


The Prophet

by NazoFox2501



Series: Assiah [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fictional Religion & Theology, Mind Meld, Mind Rape, Minor Character Death, Minor Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Multi, Partial Mind Control, Past Lives, Planet Scar Syndrome | Geostigma, Prophets, Puppet Cloud Strife, hermaphrodite character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 18:10:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 40,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14118027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NazoFox2501/pseuds/NazoFox2501
Summary: In Assiah, there are prophets that are chosen by the god Sephiroth to speak on Their behalf. Cloud, an atheist college student, is afflicted with a deadly disease, the mark of the next chosen prophet. On a journey with his friends, will he be cured and accept his fate, or can he overcome it?





	1. Part 1:  Cloud

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CryptCreeperX](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryptCreeperX/gifts).



> Written as a Christmas present for the amazing CryptCreeperX.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written as a Christmas present for my favorite fanfiction author, CryptCreeperX.

_Cloud…_

_Cloud…_

_Come to Me...Cloud…_

***

Cloud woke up with a start. For a moment, he forgot where he was. He shook his head to clear out the last shreds of sleep. He found that he had fallen asleep at his desk, his face planted on the open pages of his book. He remembered staying up all night rereading the first three chapters from Studies of Sephira for today's test. He looked at the clock: 7:45.

"Shit."

He scrambled to his feet and rushed to get all his things together for the day. He would have to wait until after his first class to have breakfast. As he left his apartment, he wondered, once again, why he picked a class that started this early in the morning.

***

**Name three prophets.**

The questions on the test weren't multiple choice, but the first few were still very easy. Cloud didn't even have to think when he wrote down the answer: Adam Genesis, Adam Angeal, and Adam Zack. His stomach growled. He silently told it that he would eat as soon as he was done with this test.

**How do Sephirans celebrate Reunion?**

He knew the answer thanks to being friends with Aerith, a devout Sephiran herself. She had told him about the one time she was able to go there, and how great it was. He wrote down the answer: by traveling to Keter and praying at the Bracha Springs to renew their faith and connection to Sephiroth.

**What years did the Leviathan War take place?**

He had read about the Leviathan War in his history books back in high school. The people of Atziluth had wanted to spread their influence to Tsukihon, but everyone there resisted. The religions of Sephira and Shukyo clashed, and the Leviathan War was the result. Against the odds, Atziluth won and, though they couldn't completely wipe out Shukyo, they did rename Tsukihon to Yetzirah.

Cloud knew it was hundreds of years ago, but he forgot how many hundreds it was, as well as the exact date of the war. He could only make a horrible guess: 1234-1242. He moved on to the final question.

**How does the Sephira of modern times differ from the Sephira centuries ago?**

Cloud groaned; he always hated the essay questions at the end. He did his best, but he wasn't entirely confident of his answer. By the time he was done thinking and writing, the class was already over.

As he shuffled out of the room, he heard a familiar voice shout out, "Cloud!"

He turned around. Running up to him was a girl with long brown hair tied up in a ribbon. She said, "Geez, I called you several times. Are you okay, Cloud?"

_She called me?_

"Yeah, sorry. Guess my head's not really there today."

"Not there? I'm almost afraid to ask how you did on the test."

"Think I at least passed it." He shrugged.

"You 'think'? Didn't you study yesterday?"

"I did…"

"Let me guess: you spent most of the day training and you fell asleep while you studied. Cloud Strife-."

"Aerith, I'm sorry, but I haven't had breakfast and I need to eat something now. If you want to give me a lecture, go ahead, but I'm off to the food court."

Cloud started to walk off, with Aerith keeping up the pace as she told him how important it was to balance studying and physical training. By the time she was done, they were already waiting in line at the SFC in the food court.

"I know you're aiming to join the army, but you got to focus on your studies, too. Don't you want to at least graduate before you go, Cloud?"

Instead of answering, Cloud ordered a Champion Chocobo platter. Once he got it, he looked for a place to sit. As always, all the tables were taken, so he found a wall and sat down with his back to it.

"Cloud?"

He finally turned his head to face Aerith once he felt her hand on his shoulder. She looked worried as she asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Huh?"

"You've been kind of distant lately. You don't talk much anymore, and Tifa's told me that she hasn't seen you in a week. Did something happen?"

Cloud shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know."

Aerith rearranged her pink skirt before sitting down next to him. She looked in his eyes as if expecting him to continue.

"I guess...I've been feeling out of it? Like...time doesn't feel like it's moving right, head's foggy, then there's the weird dreams."

"What kind of dreams?"

"Dreams of floating, voices…"

The fogginess had started a little over a week ago. He didn't want to worry anyone, so he kept it secret. Avoiding people, as he was learning right now, wasn't the best way to go about it. The dreams first came during the weekend. He always felt like he was floating in something warm, and there was the same voice calling for him. He never actually saw anything during them, but they bothered him the most.

He shook his head again. "Forget it; they're just dreams."

"Do you think you need to see a doctor?"

"No, I think I'm just not getting enough sleep."

"Maybe." Aerith looked unsure of his response. "I know I say this a lot, but please take care of yourself, Cloud. Promise me?"

_Cloud lay on the concrete, his face and limbs sore from the beatings. He could usually take care of himself in a fight, but he was ambushed this time and didn't stand a chance. When his attackers left the stairwell, he began to move. He froze when he heard footsteps coming from the stairs._

_There was a gasp and someone ran to his side._

_"Oh! Are you okay? Can you move?"_

_It was a girl to came to his side. She helped him to his feet and told him, "Lean on me. Are you able to walk?"_

_"I don't need your help." He said._

_"Of course you do, just look at yourself! Here, my room is upstairs, so at least let me patch you up."_

_Cloud was about to object, but stopped when he saw her scolding at him like a mother. He knew right away that he would get nowhere trying to argue with her. He conceded with a sigh and said, "Fine."_

_"Thank you. I don't know what happened to you, but please take care of yourself. Promise me?"_

_Cloud knew he couldn't keep that promise, but he said it anyway._

"I promise."

"Okay." She got to her feet. "See you at Wednesday's class?"

"Yeah."

Aerith smiled and walked away. Cloud turned his attention back to his food and started wolfing everything down.

***

The next day, Cloud headed straight to Zangan's dojo after his afternoon classes were over. He went to the locker room to change into his shirt, shorts, and protective gear. When he entered the room, he saw a group of five students of different ages warming up. One girl with long dark hair took notice of him and waved him over.

"You doing okay, Cloud?" She asked.

"Yeah, Tifa." He said.

"You missed last week's class. Where were you?"

"Sorry about that; kinda forgot."

"'Kinda forgot'? That's not like you, Cloud."

It was unlike him. Whatever was going on with him was not doing any favors. He was about to say something when an older man entered the room. Everyone lined up before him as he gave his warm up instructions.

Soon enough, everyone was paired up for a mock sparring match. Cloud found himself paired up with a large man with big muscles. He didn't allow himself to be intimidated by the man's physical prowess. Instead, he reminded himself that it was technique that mattered.

"Ready?" The instructor announced.

"Yes, Master Zangan!" Everyone answered.

"Fight!"

They were on their toes with their arms up immediately. Both Cloud and his opponent shuffled left and right, both looking for the moment for attack, evasion, and counterattack. Cloud decided that he would be the one to strike first.

The next thing he knew, he was grappled and tossed over his opponent's shoulder. He landed hard on the mat, but he quickly got back to his feet and default stance. Everything from there went by in a blur.

_Cloud wrestled with the armed assailant. He had threatened him to hand over his wallet, but he was having none of that. The man twisted his wrist so that the knife sliced against his arm. Cloud's grip weakened and the assailant used that chance to stab him just below the sternum._

_The pain drove him berserk._

_He whaled on his attacker with everything he got. Even when he was curled up on the ground and pleading he didn't stop. Over and over and over and-._

"Cloud! Enough!"

Cloud blinked when he heard Zangan shout. He looked down and saw his sparring partner on the ground, holding his hand up and signaling him to yield. The other students were staring at him, with Tifa looking particularly surprised.

"I-I'm so sorry-!"

"You need to learn how to control yourself, Cloud." Zangan said sternly. "You can't let your emotions get the best of you."

He could only hang his head. It wasn't the first time this had happened, but it hadn't happened in months. When he was fighting in the streets, the rage and adrenaline would always take over. It was one of the reasons he was taking this class: to have better control over himself when in a fight.

Zangan helped the fallen man up and asked, "Are you okay, Barret?"

He rubbed one of his sore arms. "Yeah, Spikey jus' got me real good, that's all."

Cloud tried again. "I am so sorry about what happened."

"Control over emotions is important." Zangan reiterated to the class. "I saw a few of you caught up as well, so I have a little homework for you. I want you all to find a quiet place, it could be at home, the park, anywhere peaceful, and practice meditation at least once a day. That is all for today. Be safe and have a good day."

While everyone grabbed some wipes to clean the mats, Cloud left for the locker room. He got out of his clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. He was about the enter the furthest shower stall when his opponent from earlier, Barret, entered. He could already see the bruises forming on his dark skin.

"Cloud, right?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Tifa's told me about you."

"You know Tifa?"

"I'm a regular at 7th Heaven. We talk all the time. She told me how she and you were doin' trainin' with Master Zangan, so I thought I'd give it a go. She also said that you may look rough, but you're a softie on the inside."

"...Am not."

"But damn! You fight like a wild animal! You fight a lot?"

Cloud didn't answer. Barret started removing his protective gear. When he took off his right mitt, Cloud saw that he had a prosthetic hand. Hoping to change the topic, he asked, "What happened?"

"This?" Barret held out his prosthetic hand. "Mining accident. Was lucky that I knew someone who could give me a new hand, cause I gotta keep workin'; gotta support Marlene, you know."

"Your daughter?"

Barret nodded. "Gotta do everything to help her. That's why I'm here, too: I wanna know how I can protect her."

_Good reason to fight. Wish I had one, too._

He was once again about to enter the shower stall when Barret called out, "Whoa! Did I get you that hard?"

"Huh?"

"That bruise on your arm."

He pointed at Cloud's left arm. Cloud looked it over and saw the bruises on it. One bruise, however, stood out among the rest. It was pitch black and it took up a good amount of space on his tricep. He lightly pressed it and found that it didn't hurt.

_How did I not notice that?_

"I'll be fine." Cloud said. "I've had worse."

He entered the shower and began washing the sweat off. He scrubbed at the black bruise to make sure it wasn't some sort of stain, but it didn't come off. He didn't know what it was, but he was positive that it wasn't a bruise. He had suffered many of them since childhood, and none of them were ever that dark.

_I should look it up later._

***

Later that night, Cloud sat in front of his computer and started searching on the Internet. He first looked up bruises, but found nothing that fit what he had. He thought that the bruise might be a rash, but it wasn't really bothering him. Nevertheless, he looked it up.

The first result he found was "Black rash! Help Pls!". He clicked the link and started reading.

"I got this black rash on my body and it won't go away! It's not a bruise and i have no idea how it got there! I don't know if it's relatd, but i've also had these weird dreams and i can't think strait. Just yesterday i started sleepwalking and i'm really scard. Pls help me!"

This caught Cloud's interest. Aside from the sleepwalking, this pretty much described what he was experiencing. He read the responses.

"That sounds like Stigma. It's a very rare disease that few people get, and no one knows how it's contracted. Unfortunately, no cure has been developed, and those who get Stigma eventually die."

"U gonna die, man."

"No! I don't want to diiiiiie!"

"It's a sign from Sephiroth. It means that They want you to come and be Their prophet.

'Those with the black markings on their flesh are to be My prophets. Come to My abode so that we may have our Reunion.' 7-20 Prophet

You will be saved if you go to the cave at Mt. Kadmon."

"But i dont want to be a prophet either.."

"If you don't come, you will die. Don't let this blessing go to waste."

"I dunno...i'd rather be a guinea pig to science. Mayb they can find a cure from me."

"Why are you being so selfish? We haven't had a prophet in ten years, so this means that Sephiroth has words to give to us. This is important; go to Mt. Kadmon."

"Dude, leave the guy alone. If he doesn't want to be your prophet then he doesn't have to. Let him do what he wants."

"Thank u."

"Are you even reading what you are typing? He will die if he defies Sephiroth's will. I don't understand why-."

From there, the forum turned into an argument. Now that Cloud thought about it, he remembered reading about the black markings in class. His copy of Studies of Sephira said that Sephiroth chose Their prophets through the black rashes. Those that went to Mt. Kadmon near Keter became prophets and adopted the title of "Adam". Those that didn't go eventually died as punishment for disobeying Sephiroth's will. People gave a name to those black rashes and its other symptoms: Stigma.

Cloud clicked out of the page and started looking up a cure for the Stigma. He saw two articles that caught his interest and he opened them up in two different tabs. He started reading the first one: "Stigma: What we Know".

"The Stigma has been around for as long as history has been recorded. However, though we know what it does, we still don't know how it is contracted and a cure has yet to be developed. While there is something in the cave near the top of Mt. Kadmon, no one but the afflicted have been able to enter due to the presence of the dragon, Bahamut. Interviews with the afflicted, now 'prophets of Sephiroth', have also been fruitless, as they have refused to reveal or share the cure, saying that it was the will of their god.

"So, what do we know about the Stigma? Let us go over the symptoms first.

"Brain fog is typically the first symptom, though most people won't attribute it to being a symptom of Stigma. Sleepwalking and somniloquy are also common symptoms that one would not initially attribute to Stigma. The defining symptoms are the black rashes that appear on different parts of the skin. They are often mistaken for bruises, but they start necrotising two weeks after the first bruise makes itself known. Fever and loss of sensation in the affected areas also occur during this time. Auditory and visual hallucinations will also occur. Eventually, the afflicted will die from infection brought on by the Stigma. Pre-existing medical conditions and lifestyle may affect the progression of the Stigma."

Cloud clicked on the other tab and found it to be an in-depth article on the symptoms of Stigma. He tried to read it, but the medical jargon only served to confuse him. He put his head in his hands.

_Why me? No...it just might be a coincidence. I should get it checked out. There's no way I can have the Stigma. It's just a bruise...and I'm just not getting enough sleep...that's all._

His PHS rang. He picked it up and checked the caller ID: Mom. He answered it.

"Hello?"

"Cloud, it's mom." His mother said. "You haven't called me in a week. How are you doing?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine."

"Just tired; nothing to worry about, mom."

"Are you staying up late to study, or have you joined a fraternity and started partying?"

"Mom-."

"I'm kidding about the last one; I know you're not that type of person, Cloud."

"I know."

"If you're up studying, then I guess your grades are good?"

"They're alright."

"Have you given any more thought on what you would like to do in the future?"

This was a question that his mom brought up at every phone call. Years ago, she threw a fit when Cloud told her that he wanted to join the army so he could be a hero. She had already lost her husband, and she didn't want to lose her only son either. Cloud had tried anyways, only to find out that he wasn't eligible due to his extreme motion sickness and violent history in high school.

He considered being a member of SWAT or an SAR unit, but even though he was in college for a year, he couldn't bring himself to completely devote to the idea; it didn't have the same appeal as the army. He could only hope that he would better himself enough for the army to one day accept him.

"No...not yet." He answered.

"...I see." His mother sounded disappointed. "I'm sure you'll find something soon."

"Yeah." He decided to change the topic. "How are you, mom?"

"I'm okay. It gets a bit lonely at times, but Mrs. Lockhart keeps me company. How is Tifa, by the way?"

"Good. She's the best in Zangan's class now."

"That's wonderful! I'm sure Mrs. Lockhart is proud of her."

"Yeah."

Cloud got out of his chair and walked to his bed. He let himself fall backwards on the mattress and sighed. "Got nothing else to report."

"Okay, sweetie. Call me soon, alright?"

"Yeah, I will."

"Love you, Cloud."

"You too, mom."

He hung up. He got up and did his usual nightly rituals before bed: brush teeth, adjust thermostat, check the locks, and turn out all the lights. He lay in bed for many long minutes, his head buzzing with thoughts about the Stigma.

_There's no way…_

It took some time, but he did eventually fall asleep.

***

_Cloud…_

_Cloud…_

_It's time, Cloud._

_Come to Me._

***

Cloud found himself standing in front of his front door, his hand on the knob. He backed away and shook his head, thinking that he was just dreaming. He bumped the heel of his foot on the corner of the sofa. While it didn't hurt nearly as bad as if he would have stubbed his toe, it was still noticeable.

Noticeable enough to know he was not dreaming.

_What the hell? Was I just...no…_

He did not want to admit that he was sleepwalking, but there was no other explanation. He looked out the windows and saw that it was still dark outside. A few drunk students were out and about under the streetlights, hooting and hollering about girls they've met at the party they went to. Aside from them, there was no one outside.

Cloud sat down on the edge of the sofa. He was tired, but he was also afraid of going back to sleep. He didn't want to imagine what would have happened if he had continued to walk out into the open while asleep.

He looked at the microwave clock: 1:57. He went to the fridge and pulled out a can of soda. He decided to stay up the rest of the early morning. He grabbed a second can before going back to his room and turning on the computer. He spent the next several hours watching videos that were too stupid to be funny.

***

The first thing Cloud did after his first class was to go the clinic on campus. He wore a light jacket to hide the black rash, as he did not want to draw any unwanted attention to it. He sat in the waiting room and pretended to show interest in the news on TV.

Days ago, the president of Shinra Electric Power Company, Rufus Shinra, had proposed an idea for a new energy source: Assiah's Lifestream. The company had done tests and found that using condensed Lifestream would produce more energy than standard electricity. With that amount of energy, they could also proceed to expand the city.

Protestors were quick to respond.

The news today was about the large gathering of protestors in front of Shinra HQ. Things had turned violent and the police had to intervene. Cloud turned his attention away from the TV and looked around the waiting room itself.

There were a few students sitting and either reading the magazines or looking at their PHSs. They all showed the telltale signs of a cold. Cloud felt out of place being the only one who may or may not actually be sick.

He spent one hour waiting before his name was called. He went through the typical check-up routine and was placed in a room. He told the nurse his symptoms and removed his jacket to show her his arms. In addition to the rash on his left arm, there was now one on his right. The nurse pursed her lips and went to get the doctor. Minutes later, a man with a ponytail and wearing a white coat entered the examination room. He didn't look at Cloud, instead focusing on the clipboard in his hand.

"Cloud Strife, correct?" The doctor asked. He went on without waiting for an answer. "I'm Dr. Hojo and I'll be taking a look at you today." He adjusted his glasses. "Hm...it says here that you have a low fever and a slightly fast heart rate. You have also described the following symptoms: black rash, being disoriented, strange dreams, and sleepwalking." He finally made eye contact with Cloud. "Tell me, what do you think it is?"

Cloud turned his head away, not wanting to look at this doctor in the eye. He answered, "Stigma."

"You would be correct. I used to do research on the Stigma, so I can recognize it when I see it."

"Why did you stop?"

Dr. Hojo bristled at that. "I would rather not discuss the details of that. If I could, I would continue my research; we still need to find a cure, after all. At this point, most people would go to Mt. Kadmon to be cured, as unscientific as it is, however, I do have another option for you."

Cloud perked up. "What is it?"

"The Gast Research Institute is still researching a cure, and they are always welcoming anyone with the Stigma to help out."

"...Are you suggesting that I should be a lab rat?"

"A crude way to put it, but yes. You would be devoting your life to a good cause."

Cloud lowered his head. He still didn't know what he was going to do with his life. He didn't want to be a prophet, but he didn't want to be a lab rat either.

"Not interested." He answered.

Dr. Hojo frowned at his response. "It is a pity you would say that, but if that's your choice, then I can't do anything about it. Will you go to Mt. Kadmon then and become one of those half-baked prophets?"

"I'll go there, but I'm not going to be a prophet, no matter what anyone says."

"If that is the case, then I'll write a note for your professors explaining your absence. Oh, and if you do get there, you wouldn't mind sharing with the world what the cure is, would you?"

 _Everyone_ does _want to know..._

"Yeah, might as well."

***

Cloud's late arrival in class didn't go unnoticed that day. After his Religious Studies class, Aerith approached him and asked, "How come you were late, Cloud?"

"Had to go to the clinic."

"Your face does look a little red. What was it?"

"It was…"

Out of all the people he knew, Cloud was sure that Aerith would be most interested in his case. He spent his time in class thinking about what he would do about the Stigma. He would have to go traveling, but he did not have the money to do so. There was no way he was going to Mt. Kadmon without help.

"Actually, is there somewhere we can talk in private?" He asked.

"In private?" Aerith slightly tilted her head. "There's the library, but...is something wrong, Cloud?"

"I'll explain when we get there."

They both went to the library together. Aerith suggested going to one of the private study rooms on the third floor. They peeked through the windows of each room until they found one that was empty. Once Cloud shut the door behind them, Aerith said, "Okay, now can you tell me what's wrong?"

"It's easier if you see it." Cloud answered.

He removed his jacket. Aerith's eyes widened and she gasped when she saw the rashes on both arms. She took a step forward and started examining them.

"Cloud Strife, you didn't get into another…" She started scolding him, but her voice trailed off. She then said softly, "No...this is Stigma. You...you've been chosen by Sephiroth to be Their next prophet, but…"

Aerith moved to sit down. She put a hand to her head and asked, "Why? You told me before that you didn't believe in Them, so why did They choose you?"

"I have no clue," Cloud said, "but I have to go to Mt. Kadmon if I want to get better. Problem is: I don't have the money to get there. At this point, I either turn myself in as a lab rat or die. I was wondering if you had any advice."

"I've only traveled to Keter once by plane, but I don't want to go on another plane since the 12/13 attack. We could go by boat, but...how long have you had the Stigma?"

"Since yesterday. Wait, what do you mean 'we'?"

"I want to go with you, of course. Sephiroth chose you, and I want to help however I can. If we pool our money together, then we should be able to purchase a boat ticket."

"Aerith, wait. I got a doctor's note excusing my absence, but you don't have an excuse. You'll get put on probation if you miss all your classes without dropping out."

Aerith looked at him straight in the eye. "Cloud, this is more important than college. Even though some people are getting the Stigma, none of them have made it to Mt. Kadmon. Sephiroth has something to tell us, yet we haven't had a prophet in ten years. You need to get there, and I will do everything I can to help you."

"I'm not-."

"One moment."

She pulled out her PHS and started searching the Internet. Cloud decided to change the topic and pointed out, "It's not just the boat ticket we should think about. What about money for food? Buses? Places to sleep at? We also need to think about the cost for a return trip. Unless you have rich relatives, I don't think-."

"I don't," Aerith answered without looking up, "but I have saved up a lot of gil since I was a little girl. We can use that."

"How much?"

"Around 11,000 gil. Oh, these tickets cost 3500 each, but the boat leaves in a few days. We would have to leave tomorrow."

"It's enough to get us there, but not enough to get back."

"It's not just my money, you know; you got yours, too." Aerith put away her PHS. She beamed, "This is actually pretty exciting. I never thought I would actually get to travel together with you for this occasion. I wonder what kind of Scroll you will write once you become the next prophet? 'Adam Cloud', I never thought I would say those words."

"I'm not becoming a prophet."

The smile left Aerith's face. "Is it because you don't believe?"

Cloud turned his head away from her. Sephira was one topic they had different opinions on, so Cloud almost never brought it up. This time, there was no avoiding the topic. His opinions flooded out of him.

"Yeah, I don't believe. How am I supposed to believe in a god that wants constant worship yet doesn't give anything back? If They want me to be Their prophet so badly, then why can't They just come get me instead of infecting me with this disease? Why can't They tell everyone everything Themselves? The Scrolls don't even answer the biggest questions. Why were we created in the first place? If Sephiroth is supposed to be good, then why are They letting all these bad things happen? Why did They give us free will? How am I supposed to believe everything the Scrolls say when they don't even say why?"

Aerith's expression turned serious. "It's because you are not supposed to question Sephiroth's word. Cloud, if you really don't believe, then why do you want to go?"

Cloud put his jacket back on. "Because I want to live."

"Prophet say that those with the Stigma should come to Sephiroth's abode. Everyone who has gone there has always come back as a prophet."

"Not going to happen to me. Once the Stigma is gone, I'm going to finish college and join the army."

"So you really believe that...however it turns out in the end, you still want to go, and I still want to help you." Her expression softened. "You may not believe, but that doesn't stop us from being friends, does it?"

"...No, and I don't want it to."

"Good. Now…"

Aerith opened her bookbag and pulled out her notebook and pencil bag. She took out a freshly sharpened pencil and tore out a blank page from her notebook. She said, "Okay, first, we need to find out our combined money amount, then we have to plan the trip."

Cloud pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. They both pulled out their PHSs and placed them on the table. Aerith took the lead in planning.

"Let's pull out our accounts first...so I have 11,560 gil, and you...wow, that's not much, Cloud...I'll look for cheap hotels, you look up maps…"

***

Cloud was mentally tired when he came back to his apartment. He and Aerith had spent hours looking up prices and directions, as well as calculating their budget and total time it would take to get to Mt. Kadmon. From what he read on the Stigma report yesterday, necrosis would start two weeks after the first bruises showed up.

One day had already passed, and it would be two by the time they departed tomorrow. It would take them the entire day to get to Chesod port. It would be day three when they board the boat. The boat trip would take seven days to get to Binah in Atziluth, then the bus ride from there to Keter would take three more. The final walk to Mt. Kadmon would take almost a whole day. After it was all over, they would have just enough money to make the trip back. Cloud pulled out a copy of Aerith's list. They would be cutting it close, and that was if everything went smoothly. If they came across any delays…

Cloud's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. He folded up the list and went to look through the door's peephole. To his surprise, he saw Tifa standing there with a Midgar's Plate pizza box in her hands. He opened the door.

"Surprise!" Tifa said.

"Didn't expect you to stop by." Cloud admitted.

"I was going to call, but I thought it would be nicer to surprise you."

"What's the occasion?"

"Occasion? I just wanted to see if you wanted to spend some time together; watch some TV or something."

"Uh...sure; I'm not busy."

He let her in. While Cloud pulled out plates and soda bottles, Tifa plopped down on the couch and started channel surfing. She stopped at one channel and asked, "How does 'Shuriken 2' sound?"

Cloud took two slices from the box and put them on his plate. "That's fine. You alright with Lime Fizz?"

"Yeah."

Tifa got up and fixed her own plate before joining Cloud on the couch. They spent the first few minutes watching Shuriken the ninja sneaking into a pagoda and assassinating her enemies. Eventually, Tifa asked, "So how are classes?"

Cloud, who had a mouthful of pizza, just shrugged.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Hey, I was wondering: you want to go to the park tomorrow after Zangan's class?"

He swallowed his bite. He had planned to send emails to his college professors about his sudden trip, but he had forgotten about Tifa and Zangan's classes. Cloud became self conscious about his rashes, even if they were still covered up by the sleeves of his jacket.

"Actually, tomorrow's not a good day." He said.

"Oh? Then maybe next Tuesday?"

"No..."

Tifa turned to look at Cloud. She analyzed his face and said, "I know that expression: something's troubling you. Want to share it with me?"

"I...I'm actually going to be out of town for some time."

"Really? That's the first I've heard of this. Where are you going?"

"Back to Yesod; family emergency."

"...You're lying."

"No I'm not."

Tifa stood up. "Cloud, how many years have we known each other? Fifteen. I know when you're lying. The real question is: what are you lying about?"

Yeah, she can tell. I should've known.

"I just don't want to worry you."

"You've already done that by lying to me, dumbass."

Cloud sighed and also stood up. He removed his jacket and pointed to the rashes on both arms. "It's Stigma, Tifa. I have to leave so it can be cured."

Tifa stared at the rashes and softly said, "Cloud…"

"I'm leaving first thing tomorrow. I won't be back for a few weeks."

"Stigma...I can't believe it." She lightly touched his left arm and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I already said I didn't want to worry you."

"Cloud...have you told anyone about this?"

"The doctor at the clinic...and Aerith. She's actually helping me to make the trip."

"Aerith? Your classmate in Religious Studies?"

Cloud nodded. Tifa withdrew her hand and said, "If you're going to Mt. Kadmon, then that must mean you're going to be a prophet. I know you're not a Sephiran, but I also know you want to live."

"I do, but I'm not going to be a prophet."

"Yeah, that sounds like you." She paused for a moment before asking, "Do you have a plan to get there?"

"Aerith and I worked out the route and costs. We should be able to make it if nothing goes wrong."

Tifa sat back down. "Can you tell me?"

Cloud turned off the TV and told Tifa the details of the plan. When he was done, Tifa folded her arms and said, "You're cutting it too close with your budget. By the time you return, you won't have enough to pay rent or bills. You're going to need more money than this."

Cloud sighed. "I know, but we don't have time to save up more money."

Tifa thought for a moment. "Have you tried asking your mother? I know she would help."

"She would freak out if I told her that I had the Stigma. I don't want to worry-."

Tifa snapped, "Cloud, stop worrying about worrying other people and let us help you! If you don't get help, then the Stigma is going to kill you!"

Cloud lowered his head.

_She's right._

He took a deep breath and said, "You're right. Give me a moment."

She nodded. Cloud went to his room and called his mom.

"Cloud!" She greeted. "I didn't expect you to call me so soon! What is it, sweetie?"

"Mom, do you have a few minutes?" Cloud asked.

"Of course! What's going on?"

"You might want to sit down for this…"

He told her everything that was going on. She reacted just as he had expected her to: upset. It took a few minutes for her to calm down. Once she did, he brought up the main issue.

"I've made plans to go there, but I don't have enough gil to make the return trip."

"I understand," his mother said, "I'll transfer all my savings to your account. 14,000 gil should be enough, right?"

Cloud blinked in surprise. He had no idea she had saved up that much. He answered, "Yeah, that's more than enough. Thanks, mom. I'll send the rest back once it's all over and done with."

"Thank you. Oh, and Cloud? Whether or not you become a prophet, I want you to call me once you're all better. Promise?"

"I promise, mom."

"Please be careful. I love you, Cloud."

"I love you too, mom."

Cloud hung up and went back to the living room to report back to Tifa.

"You see? It's okay to ask for help." Tifa pointed out.

He nodded.

"That said, I want to come with you."

"Huh?"

"We can all ride in my truck so you won't have to pay for gas for your motorcycle, and I figured you would like another familiar face by your side. You don't mind, do you?"

Cloud hadn't expected this. "I...no, I don't, but I don't think we have enough-."

"Don't worry about the gil; I can pay for myself. I want to be there for you, Cloud."

I guess extra company's not bad, and it's Tifa. She may not be in school, but she's still got a job, though.

"Are you sure? What about your job?"

"Not a problem; I got vacation days saved up."

"...Okay. I'll call Aerith and let her know that you're coming with us."

"Great! You said you're leaving at the crack of dawn, right? I bring my truck then."

"Sounds good. Thanks for the support, Tifa."

Tifa pulled Cloud into a hug. "Of course, Cloud."

He felt awkward, but he wrapped his arms lightly around her back. They broke the hug and Tifa headed out, saying that she had to pack for the trip. Now alone, Cloud had one last slice of pizza before calling Aerith and telling her the news.

"Tifa? Your girlfriend?" She asked.

"Tifa is…"

_Cloud wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing, but Tifa seemed to be enjoying it. He wouldn't tell her, but he was only mimicking what he saw on online porn. He trailed kisses on her breasts and stomach, stopping just above the hair that grew between her legs. She urged him to go on._

Cloud knew that his relationship with Tifa was complicated. They were friends from childhood, and they did go on a few dates with one ending intimately, yet he wasn't completely sure if he loved her. He did care her, but he didn't know if he could call it love.

"We're just friends, and she wants to help out, too."

"That's sweet of her, and it's nice that she's bringing her truck; we can pack a little more stuff now that we have a bit of extra room."

"Yeah."

"So she's going to come pick you up first, then me?"

"That's the plan."

"Okay. I'm going to bed early; tomorrow's going to be a long day. I already said this earlier, but I'm actually excited about this. Now that Tifa's coming, it feels like we're a group of adventurers off to complete our quest."

"I guess."

"See you tomorrow. Goodnight, Cloud."

"Night."

He hung up. He was very tired since he woke up earlier that morning, and though his body was ready for bed, his mind was a little nervous about the possibility of another sleepwalking episode. He went back to his room and changed into his night clothes. When he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, he looked at himself in the mirror and saw the tiredness in his eyes. Cloud hoped that he would actually get a good night's sleep this time.

When he was done brushing and doing his other nightly rituals, he went to his computer and went to work on sending his notice of absence to his professors, as well as a digital copy of the doctor's notice he got this morning. He then got to packing whatever was needed, including his bottle of motion sickness pills. While he was fine riding his motorcycle and in cars, he could not handle things like boats and buses. He decided to use his backpack instead of his suitcase, since it would be easier to carry around.

The last thing he did before he turned in was to set the alarm on his clock. He crawled under the sheets and closed his eyes. Now that he wasn't doing anything, he could now think about everything that had happened today.

_I can't believe we're going to Mt. Kadmon. It's all happening too fast._

It took him some time to fall asleep.

***

Cloud found himself floating in warm, dark green water. He felt disoriented, yet calm. He didn't know why he was here, but he felt like this was where he belonged.

_"Cloud."_

The voice reverberated in his body. He slowly sank into the water. He felt like he was heading towards something at the bottom, if there was one. He tried to think, but he had a hard time forming thoughts. The only thing he felt was a strong compulsion to follow the voice.

_"Come to Me."_

_"Come to My side."_

_"Come to where you belong."_

***

Cloud felt a sharp pain in his foot. He looked down and saw that he had stepped on a broken piece of pavement with his bare feet. Confused, he looked around.

He was standing in the middle of the road, not too far from his apartment.

_What the hell?! How did I get out here?!_

He ran back to his apartment and saw that his door was wide open. He went back inside, locked it, and propped the door with a chair. He went back to his bed and collapsed on top of it. His clock read 2:00.

Cloud was afraid of falling back asleep.

_I can't believe...I actually left my apartment. I could have walked for miles. A car could have hit me. Why? Why is this happening to me?_

He thought back to the dream. Unlike the other ones where it was just darkness, he was actually somewhere. The voice was also clearer. It was smooth and masculine, but also powerful. What scared him almost as much as the sleepwalking was how compelling the voice was.

_Could it be Sephiroth's voice? No. No, They don't exist. There's no way._

Cloud shook his head. Tifa was supposed to be arriving in another four hours. He went to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of soda. After drinking the whole bottle, he decided that he would exercise. He did pushups, situps, and lifted 20 lb weights. He did this until he felt exhausted. He spent the rest of the time looking up random things on the computer.

Four hours later, he got a text from Tifa: **Coming now. You ready?**

He texted back: **Yeah.**

He started to get dressed. He put on a pair of jeans, a gray t-shirt, and his jacket. Once he was done, he grabbed his backpack and headed outside.

He waited a few minutes before he saw a worn green truck pull up to the curb. He walked up to it and opened the passenger's side door. The smell of coffee drifted his way and he noticed that Tifa had a cup in her hand.

"Morning." Tifa said. "I know you don't like coffee, so I got you a soda."

She pointed to the bottle of soda in the cup holder. Cloud threw his backpack in the back next to Tifa's suitcase and hopped into the truck. He pulled out his phone and said, "I'll let Aerith know we're on the way."

He texted: **You awake?**

The reply was quick: **Yep. I'm surprised you're up, sleepyhead. Did Tifa have to wake you up?**

**No. We're on our way now.**

**Okay, just need a min to get ready.**

With the text conversation done, Cloud pulled up the navigation module on his PHS and gave Tifa directions to Aerith's place. While she drove, Cloud looked out the window. Though it was early, there were still people walking about. It was a crowd mixed with early bird workers and college students.

They moved from the apartment complex area to somewhere more suburban. Tifa stopped in front of a white house with many types of flowers blooming in the garden. The door opened and they caught a glimpse of Aerith hugging an older woman. She briskly walked out with a goodbye wave, the suitcase she was holding onto dragging behind her. Cloud got out and opened the back door for her.

"I can get that." He offered.

Aerith smiled. "Cloud, I didn't know you were such a gentleman."

He grabbed her suitcase and shoved it in the back, leaving only enough room for one person in the back. He stated the obvious, "It's cramped back there. You want the front seat?"

"No, I'm small enough to fit. Thank you, though."

Aerith climbed into the back seat and saw Tifa. She said, "You're Tifa, right? I'm Aerith."

Tifa eyed her for a second, but she stretched her arm so she could shake Aerith's hand. "Nice to meet you."

Cloud got back in and buckled up. He pulled out his PHS and once again opened the navigation module, as well as his copy of Aerith's list. He looked at both of his friends.

"Let's review this first part." He began. "It's a day's ride to Chesod. It'll be late by the time we get there, but we can make it. Aerith's found a hotel we can stay at that costs 100 gil a night. It's not luxurious, and we'll have to share a room, but even with all of our money combined, we can't spend it on unnecessary luxury; this isn't a vacation. Tomorrow the ship to Atziluth departs at five in the morning. Again, not luxurious, but at least we can buy the tickets at the door. From there, it'll take seven days to get to Atziluth."

"Seven days on a boat…" Tifa mused. "Cloud, you did pack your motion sickness pills, didn't you?"

He sighed. "Yes."

"You get motion sickness, Cloud?" Aerith asked.

"He has it real bad." Tifa answered for him. "I remember this one time during middle school when we went to Little Johnny's Chocobo Farm. The bus was horrible enough, but when it was his turn to ride a chocobo-."

"Not now, Tifa." Cloud interrupted her.

"Aw, but I wanted to hear the story." Aerith pouted.

"The sooner we get on the road, the better."

Tifa nodded. "True. I'll finish the story later, Aerith."

Cloud set the navigation module to direct them to Chesod. As Tifa followed its directions, he plugged his PHS into the truck's charger and removed the soda in the cup holder to make room for it. He sipped it and watched the scenery change from suburbia to the highway.

Malchut was the largest city in Beri'ah, and Cloud could never get used to its size. Large buildings and busy highways took up most of the city space. In the distance, he could see headquarters of Shinra Electric Power Company, the largest building in the city. He thought back to yesterday's news and wondered if there were still protestors there.

Tifa turned the radio on to rock music.

"Actually," Aerith spoke up, "can you change it to 99.1?"

Tifa turned the dial to that station. A hymn in another language played. She asked, "Sephiran hymns? Not really my thing, but okay."

"Sorry," Aerith said, "but rock isn't my thing, either."

"We'll have to compromise. How about one hour of your music, then one hour of my music? Or maybe we can listen to something else?"

"Something else sounds better, but I always start my day by listening to the hymns."

Tifa left the dial alone. Cloud closed his soda bottle and set it by his feet. He rested back against his seat and continued to stare out the window. Even with the caffeine in his body, he was still sleepy. The soft hymns that were playing weren't helping.

"You know what they're saying?" Tifa asked.

Aerith closed her eyes and said rhythmically, " 'Love, family, harmony, all is one. Such beauty, such grace, such divinity, all is one,' and then it repeats."

Cloud's eyes started to flutter.

_Might as well try to sleep. Not like I can sleepwalk while I'm strapped in._

The last thing he saw before closing his eyes was the sign: **You are now leaving Malchut. Hope to see you again soon!**

***

The drive was long, with the group's only entertainment being the radio and their conversations. They passed through towns and open fields with chocobos roaming freely. Once in awhile, they would see a monster in the distance. They stopped a few times for gas, food, and bathroom breaks.

It was a little after sunset when they arrived at the port town of Chesod. There were small stores and many rows of simple houses in the town. The harbor was large and had many boats docked. There were cargo ships, fishing boats, and sailboats, among many other types of boats.

The first thing they did was to look for the ticket office. Fortunately for them, it was still open, though it was about to close soon. They jumped out of the truck and rushed inside.

There was a lone woman working behind the ticket booth. She was fiddling with her PHS and didn't notice the group. Tifa spoke up, "Excuse us."

The woman jerked her head up. She said, "We're closing soon."

"I know, but we're here for tickets."

"For which ship?"

Aerith chimed in, "Three for the Gelnika."

"Oh, you didn't hear? The Gelnika's engine failed today. The trip to Atziluth has been postponed for a few days."

"Postponed?!"

Cloud groaned, "You're kidding me."

"Tickets are still available, you'll just have to wait."

"But we can't wait!" Aerith exclaimed. "We have to leave for Atziluth tomorrow!"

"Are there any other ships heading there tomorrow?" Tifa asked.

The woman thought for a moment. "Not passenger or cruise ships, no. We are sorry for this inconvenience." She looked at her PHS. "It's now 8:00. I'm sorry, but could you please come back tomorrow?"

"...Yes."

They left the ticket office. They got back in the truck and watched the lights in the office turn off. Cloud asked, "What now?"

"We don't have much of a choice." Tifa said. "We'll have to wait until the ship is up and running."

"But we can't wait!" Aerith said.

"She's right." Cloud agreed. "If we wait, the rashes will start necrotizing before we can even get to Mt. Kadmon. There's got to be another ship we can get on."

"But she said that there aren't any ships leaving tomorrow."

"Not passenger or cruise ships. Chesod's got a lot of cargo ships. We just gotta find one that's leaving tomorrow and sneak on board."

"Sneak on board?" Aerith asked. "What if we get caught? They'll arrest us and we'll never make it to Mt. Kadmon in time."

"Maybe we should try bribing?" Tifa suggested.

"Let's see if we can find a ship first." Cloud said.

Everyone agreed to that idea. They drove near the port and looked at all the ships that were docked. There were a few people that were loading up on an oil tanker. Tifa suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing Cloud and Aerith to lurch forward.

"Tifa?" Cloud asked. "What's-?"

"Look!"

Tifa pointed outside. Standing under one of the lights of the nearest dock was a familiar figure. Tifa parked the truck and ran out to greet him. Cloud and Aerith followed behind her.

"Barret!" Tifa called out.

The man from Zangan's class turned around and exclaimed, "Tifa! What are you doin' here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!"

"Me an' the rest of the minin' crew are goin' to Atziluth to get oil. We just loadin' up our food for the trip."

"Wait," Cloud said, "you said you're going to Atziluth?"

Barret blinked in surprise. "Spikey! You're here, too?" He looked at Aerith. "An' you got another friend with you? What's goin' on here?"

"We need to get to Atziluth, too." Aerith explained. "Cloud has the Stigma and we need to get him to Mt. Kadmon before it's too late."

"Aerith," Cloud groaned, "you don't need to tell everyone about this."

"Stigma?! Was that what that bruise was?"

Cloud nodded.

"Barret," Tifa said, "do you think it would be possible for us to get on board?"

Barret uneasily scratched the back of his head. "I dunno. I want to, but I'm not the capt'n. Be right back."

He ran up the ramp that lead to the ship. Tifa asked, "What are the odds of finding Barret here? And with a ship that can take us to Atziluth?"

"Is he a friend of yours?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah. Cloud's only met him once, though."

"It is wondrous that he's here with a ship. Sephiroth must be helping us."

"It's just a coincidence." Cloud said. "We don't even know if we're getting on or not."

Barret came running back. Walking some distance behind him was a young woman in uniform. Barret stopped in front of the group and said, "The capt'n wanted to see you personally."

The captain walked up to Cloud and asked, "Are you the one with the Stigma?"

"Yeah."

"Show me."

Cloud was getting tired of taking off his jacket to show the Stigma, but he did it nevertheless.

"You got another one?" Barret asked.

No one answered him. The captain pressed her gloved fingers against the rash on his right arm and rubbed. She withdrew her hand and looked at her glove as if expecting something to be on it.

"You're not faking it." She observed. She then asked, "How long have those been there?"

"Three days now." Cloud answered.

"I assume you tried to board the Gelnika first?"

"We've heard about the engine failure."

"Why not take a plane, then? It would be much faster."

Cloud looked at Aerith, then back at the captain, and simply answered, "12-13."

"...Of course. I'll allow you and your friends on board, since this is a matter of life or death, but I expect the same amount of payment that you were going to pay for the Gelnika's tickets."

"Thank you so much!" Aerith blurted out.

"Yeah, thank you, capt'n!" Barret joined in.

"I wouldn't normally do this, but this is unusual circumstances." The captain reminded them. "We're actually departing in thirty minutes, so it would be best if you handed the money right now."

Aerith stepped forward and fished out a wad of bills. She counted them out before handing them over to the captain. She looked over the amount, then nodded.

"Everything's good to go. I'm Captain Elfe, but I still expect to be addressed as 'Captain'. We have sleeping quarters below deck and enough food for everyone, but don't expect anything more than the basics. Try not to cause too much trouble and we'll be just fine. Welcome aboard."

Elfe turned on her heel and went back to the ship. Barret said to the group, "She's actually nice when she's not on duty."

"I can kind of see that." Aerith admitted.

"Let's get our things." Tifa said. "It's unfortunate, but the truck is going to have to stay behind. It's probably going to get towed…"

They pulled their things out of the truck and followed Barret into the ship. He gave them a quick tour of the ship, telling them where they could and couldn't be. They passed by several members of the ship crew, who were busy checking different parts of the ship. When they arrived at the residential deck, he made a quick count of the rooms.

"This one is empty," he pointed out, "and this one and-aw crap."

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"We're short one room. Two people are gonna have to share."

"...I'm not sharing my room with anyone."

"Hold on." Tifa said. "You said that you've sleepwalked once already, Cloud. What if it happens again? I think someone should stay to keep an eye on you. I will-."

"I'll stay." Aerith interrupted.

Both girls looked at each other. Cloud butted in before anything could happen. "I'll be fine on my own. If I do start sleepwalking on the ship, then I'll share a room with someone."

"Maybe you girls can share." Barret suggested.

Neither said a word for a moment, then Aerith said, "Fine."

"Fine." Tifa echoed her.

The ship's intercom suddenly crackled to life. From it, everyone heard Elfe give an announcement of their departure. The ship soon began to move. Cloud immediately excused himself to one of the empty rooms.

The room was big enough for one person. There was a small bed, a toilet, and a shower. Cloud set his backpack down and fished out his motion sickness pills. He took one out and swallowed it dry. He sat on the bed and realized just how tired he was. Though he napped in the truck, the long drive still tired him out. He and the others already stopped at a fast food place for dinner on the go, so he wasn't hungry.

There was a knock on the door.

"Are you alright, Cloud?" Tifa asked from the other side.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Cloud exited the room. A thought crossed his mind and he said, "The rooms are pretty small. How is there going to be enough room for you and Aerith?"

"Barret's getting us extra blankets so that one of us can sleep on the floor."

"And who's sleeping on the floor?"

"We've decided to take turns, starting with me."

Barret reappeared with an armful of blankets. He passed them over to Tifa and said, "Hope this will be enough."

"We can make it work." She reassured him.

"Hey, when you're done, can you come to the break room? I wanna introduce you to the rest of my group."

"Sure. We'll be there shortly."

Tifa went back to her room. Cloud decided that he would go on ahead. He started to follow Barret to the break room.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks. He felt something that he always experienced before he would get caught up in a fight: the feeling of being followed. He turned around.

No one was there.

Goosebumps appeared on Cloud's skin and he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand. He hadn't heard anything that would indicate that someone was following him, yet that feeling wouldn't go away. He turned back around and saw that Barret was gone.

_Where did he go? Who's following me? Who...someone's watching me. But no one's here. It...it's only me._

_"You are never alone, Cloud."_

Cloud nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned around and expected to see the owner of the voice from his dreams. Instead, he saw Tifa and Aerith.

"Did we startle you?" Aerith asked.

"Sorry," Tifa said, "it just looked like you were zoning out. Are you tired, Cloud?"

_Hallucinations. Another symptom. Damn, this keeps getting better and better._

"I am a little." He answered the half-truth. "I'll turn in after we meet the others."

The three of them walked together to the break room. In addition to Barret, there were three other people sitting around a table. One was a pudgy man eating a bag of chips, one was a slim man with his feet propped on the table, and the other was a woman chewing a piece of gum. Barret began the introductions.

"Okay, here's the rest of the mining crew. Over there is Wedge, next to him is Biggs, and the little missy is Jessie."

Jessie blew a bubble and popped it. She asked, "Who you calling 'little missy'?"

"Well he wasn't referring to Biggs." Wedge laughed.

Biggs lightly punched Wedge's shoulder. "Shut up!"

"Guys," Barret spoke up, "these are Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith. They'll be stickin' with us until we reach Binah port."

Biggs swung his feet back to the ground. He said with interest, "Yeah, I heard the Captain talking about extra passengers, and that one of them has the Stigma." He looked at Cloud. "That's you, right?"

"Why you think that?" He asked back.

"Captain said that the rashes were on the arms, and you're the only one with their arms covered up. Can we see them?"

"No."

"Aw c'mon." Wedge joined in. "We've never seen anyone with the Stigma in person."

"Leave him alone, guys." Jessie interrupted. "He's probably sick of everyone wanting to see his Stigma like he's a freak."

Before Cloud could thank her for speaking up for him, Aerith snapped, "Cloud's not a freak!"

"I wasn't saying he was."

Biggs' eyes lit up. "Ooh, we getting a cat fight here?"

"No we are not!"

"We just took off and things are already getting exciting." Wedge commented.

"Chill!" Barret shouted.

The three of them hushed up. Barret went on, "It's been a long day for everyone. I'm pretty sure our new friends want to get some shuteye."

Cloud was the first one to turn around and leave. "Night."

He heard a few "goodnight"s in response. His mind was still focused on that hallucination, and he didn't feel like dealing with anything else tonight. He went to his room and locked the door. It hadn't stopped his last sleepwalking incident, but it still gave him a slight sense of security.

He brushed his teeth and changed into his night clothes. He turned off the light and crawled into bed. He tried his best to think of positive things before he fell asleep.

***

Cloud was once again floating in the dark green pool. Warmth and calm engulfed his body. His mind was fuzzy and he couldn't think straight, but he was coherent enough to know that he had experienced this before.

He tried to move, but he found his body to be sluggish and heavy.

_"Cloud."_

It was the voice. Again, Cloud began to sink deeper into the water. He still struggled to move, but it was like being trapped in jello.

_"You have no reason to fight."_

Cloud shouted, but only bubbles came out of his mouth.

_This is a dream! I have to wake up!_

_"Yes. Wake up, Cloud."_

His vision suddenly became blurry and a loud, high-pitched ringing filled his ears. He instinctively covered his ears, but it did nothing to block the sound out. It became harder to think.

_"Let us have our Reunion. Come to Me."_

***

Cloud opened his eyes and shivered. He was outside on the top deck, standing between the large containers. The sky was black with only moonlight illuminating the darkness. He rubbed his arms and started to make his way back inside.

_Damn! Not again!_

When he opened the door to the lower deck, he was surprised to see Elfe standing there. They both jumped.

"Cloud." Elfe said. "What are you doing out here?"

"Sleepwalking." He grumbled. "It's been happening since I got the first rash."

"Damn. I can't even imagine. At least you didn't jump off the ship."

Cloud decided to change the topic. "What about you? What are you doing this late?"

"Couldn't sleep. I was going to smoke." Elfe pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered it to Cloud. "You smoke?"

"No."

"Well, you're welcome to talk with me anyways."

Elfe walked over to the railing and pulled out a cigarette. She lit it up, inhaled, and blew out a puff of smoke. As cold as Cloud was, he didn't feel like going back down to reattempt sleep, at least not yet. He walked up to Elfe and leaned on the railing.

"This is an oil barge, right?" He asked. "Shouldn't you not be smoking near those tanks?"

"Tanks are empty." Elfe said.

"Oh."

Cloud looked towards the ocean. The waves were calm and there weren't any clouds in sight. The full moon shone brilliantly on the water's surface. Elfe took another puff from her cigarette. Without looking at him, she said, "Hey."

"Hm?"

"Are you Sephiran?"

"No. I can't believe in Sephiroth."

"Why not?"

"Science can answer things better than the Scrolls can. Plus, if Sephiroth exists, why can't They just prove it instead of having a prophet speak for Them?"

Elfe didn't say anything for a moment, instead taking another puff. Once she exhaled the smoke, she said, "I used to be Sephiran. My father and I really believed in Sephiroth and the Scrolls, then…" She let out a heavy sigh. "He got into a fatal accident. I kept praying to Sephiroth to save him, but…" She flicked the cigarette into the ocean. "Why would a god like Sephiroth let someone who loved Them so much die? I realized that there was only one reason."

"There is no god." Cloud answered for her.

"...Yes."

Elfe pulled out a second cigarette and lit it. She said, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel for you. Nobody should have to suffer the Stigma."

"...Thanks."

Cloud turned around and headed back in. He still didn't feel like sleeping, but the cold was finally getting to him. He went to his room and switched on the light. The bright glare of the bare lightbulb caused him to shield his eyes for a bit. He did a few sets of pushups and squats before trying to sleep again.

***

The next seven days were boring for everyone. The mining crew had the foresight to bring some board games to entertain themselves with, but they got bored of them after the third day. When they weren't playing games, they were telling stories. Between seven people, excluding Elfe that busied herself with the ship crew, there was plenty to talk about.

Cloud, meanwhile, was reluctantly about to accept the fact that he was better off sharing a room with someone after what happened the first night. Fortunately, Jessie had an idea that could help out. She gathered a bunch of empty soup and soda cans, some string, and a roll of tape. She lined the cans in front of Cloud's door and started taping string to each of them.

"And what is this supposed to do?" Cloud asked.

"It's a makeshift alarm." Jessie explained. "When you try to walk through, your ankles will catch the string connecting the cans. Trying to walk with them on you will make enough noise to wake you up...unless you're a heavy sleeper, then I'll have to think of something else."

"Let's give it a shot, then."

Cloud had the usual dream of floating in green with the voice telling him to come to Them that night. As usual, he tried to wake himself up. It seemed like it was going to continue speaking when he heard a loud clanging noise. He woke up to find himself standing in the hallway, the string and the cans wrapped around his ankles

The plan worked just as expected.

Jessie's setup worked on every other night after that. Cloud's dreams, however, became different. They were all different scenarios where he was something or someone other than himself. He was a malboro hunting for food, a chocobo being sent to the slaughterhouse, and a woman who had no choice but to prostitute herself just to get enough money to eat for the day. Not once did he hear the voice from the other dreams. However, he had gained two more black rashes, one on each thigh.

_At least that voice is gone._

The crew grew anxious about making landfall on day six. They could see Atziluth on the horizon, yet they had one more day to go through. Cloud and Barret decided to pass the time by watching Biggs and Wedge trying to create a new game out of the ones they already had.

"So the chocobo, moogle, sword, and sack of gil are the player pieces." Wedge explained. "The goal is to reach the end of the board while collecting money. The one with the most money wins."

"We move however many spaces the spinner lands on." Biggs jumped in. "You land on a colored square and draw a colored number card. If it's a seven, then the first person to shout 'lucky' gets to draw a money card. Any number below a seven means that you have to play a game of charades. The one doing the charades picks the category-."

"Wait, we should be writing all this down. We need to patent this once we get home."

"Yeah! It'll be the best game ever!"

"I doubt it." Cloud mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Yeah," Barret agreed, "it already sounds way too complicated to play."

"But we didn't even list all the rules yet!" Biggs said.

"You tryin' to combine five games into one. How's that not complicated?"

"We'll make it work, won't we Wedge?"

Wedge nodded enthusiastically.

Cloud lost interest and left the break room. He was headed back to his room when he heard Aerith call out to him. He turned and saw that he was in front of the open door to her room. Aerith herself was sitting on her bed with a book in her hands. She stood up and approached him.

"I know you only read this for class," she said, "but I thought it might be a good idea for you to look it over."

Upon closer inspection, Cloud saw that she was holding a copy of the Scrolls. He immediately felt that she was trying to force the whole prophet idea on him. He gave her an accusatory look and said, "You still think I'm going to be a prophet, aren't you."

Aerith looked taken aback. "What? No, I just thought...well...it would be something to do?"

Cloud sighed. He knew that she was lying, but he also really had nothing to do. A surprised smile appeared on Aerith's face when he took the book from her.  
"You're right," he said, "it would be a good idea. This might help me strengthen my resolve to fight back."

He left before he could get a chance to see her expression change. He went into his room, shut the door, and sat down on the bed to read. In addition to strengthening his resolve to defy everyone's expectations, he also hoped to find anything else about the Stigma. He had read through Prophet only one time, so he didn't remember much from it. He started skimming through the book until he found what he was looking for.

****

**Those with the black markings on their flesh are to be My prophets. Come to My abode so that we may have our Reunion. Those that heed My call shall be blessed and given the title of Adam. Those that do not shall suffer before returning to Me. Heed the words of My prophets, for I speak through them. Remember what they say and keep those words close to your heart, for My words are absolute.**

_It talks about the markings, but not the other symptoms. "Those that heed My call"...do dreams-no, that's just coincidence._

Cloud read further on ahead, but found nothing else about the Stigma. He closed the book, then flipped it open to the first Scroll: Origins. In addition to Prophet, he also read Origins and Reunion for class. He had not read anything past Prophet. Knowing that he still had several days before making it to Keter, he decided to go ahead and start again from the beginning.

_Might as well, since I'll have to catch up when I get back._

****

**In the beginning, there was none but Mother Jenova. She made the cosmos, the stars, and the world, which was barren. She gave birth to Sephiroth and entrusted Him with the world. "Bring life to this world and reign over all that are born from You. All shall revere You, My son."**

**So Sephiroth let Himself bleed onto the world, and from His blood sprang life. Plants and animals flourished, but none revered Him. Not knowing what to do, Sephiroth consulted Mother Jenova. "I have given My blood so that life may exist, but they do not revere Me like You said they would. I need your guidance, Mother." Wise Mother Jenova told Him, "We are gods of great power, My son. All shall know and worship Us. You will have My guidance, and I will always be with You.**

**"We shall create humans in Our image to honor us. We shall grant them the knowledge of Our existence so they may revere Us. We will love them, and they will love Us in return. They shall have dominion over the plants and animals, but We shall have dominion over them and the world."**

**And then Mother Jenova and Sephiroth came to know one another and became one. From Their blood sprung the first humans, and so it came to be that humankind was made to serve Sephiroth.**

_Serve Sephiroth? So we can't live for ourselves? Bullshit._

The rest of the Scroll told the story of Genesis, the first prophet. There was no mention of the Stigma, but it did say that "Genesis heeded Sephiroth's call". Cloud thought about the dreams again, but dismissed them once more. He had had enough reading for the day and he put away the book. He left his room and looked for Tifa.

He found her on the upper deck, stretching her arms towards the sun. He approached her and asked, "Stretching?"

"Yeah. Stretching in the sun is the best."

"Want to spar?"

"Sure. I got nothing else to do, plus this will make up for missing class."

_Cloud landed a punch square on the other kid's face, knocking him to the ground. He got up and scowled at his opponent before getting to his feet and running off. Cloud looked at Tifa, who was still whimpering and holding onto her ponytail._

_"He's gone now." He reassured her._

_"I-I know." She sniffled. "It's just that my head still hurts."_

_She looked down at the strands of hair that were on the ground. She screamed and kicked at the ground. Cloud tried to calm her down. "If he ever shows up again, I'll protect you."_

_"But I don't want to be protected! I don't want to be helpless and I don't want to be rescued every time that jerk picks on me! I...I-I want to get rid of him myself!"_

_Tifa balled her hands into fists and gritted her teeth. Cloud asked, "You want to fight him?"_

_"Y-yeah. I know it's not what girls do, but I'm just so sick of this."_

_"...I can show you how to fight, if you'd like." Cloud could feel himself blush a bit._

_"Really? You would do that for me, Cloud?"_

_"It wouldn't hurt to know how to fight back against bullies like him. Plus," he grinned, "I would like to see the look on his face when you kick his ass."_

_Normally, Tifa would scold him for using bad words, but she smiled this time._

_"I want to see that, too. Now, show me."_

Together they spent the rest of their free time sparring. Cloud and Tifa noticed that he moved slower than normal. Tifa always had the skill advantage over him, but she dominated the match this time.

"Maybe we should hold off on sparing until you get better." She suggested.

Cloud felt winded. He noticed that, in addition to his decreased reaction time, his strength was also weaker. Knowing this was due to his condition only made him irritated.

_Damn Stigma._

He agreed with her and they went below deck for dinner.

***

Anan was lying on a bed made of hide and soft down. He was surrounded by warm sunlight and wrapped in furs. He found himself caught in a strong but gentle embrace from behind. He leaned back and he found his head pressed against a pair of plump breasts.

He was happy. He felt loved. It was the complete opposite of his past life in the village. The memories of everyone hating him came back and he felt a twinge of sadness beginning to grow. He didn't want to remember, but the thoughts and emotions were threatening to grow out of control.

"Do not think of those things." The one who held him commanded.

Anan's mind was wiped clean. The memories were still there, but the happiness and love had returned stronger than before. He wondered how They knew-.

"I always know what's in your head. What has happened is all in the past now."

_Of course. It doesn't matter now._

He felt Them nuzzle the back of his head. "Yes, so don't be sad. I am here with you now."

Anan asked, "You won't leave me, won't You? I don't want to be-."

"You are never alone, Anan, and you never will be."

_Never alone…_

He closed his eyes and sighed in content.

They leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I would like to hear you speak My name. I want to hear your love for Me in your voice."

Anan's heart was suddenly overflowed with emotions. Love. Joy. Content. One name escaped from his mouth.

"Sephiroth."

One of Their hands slid up to grip his chin and turn his head to the side. Anan could feel Their breath inches away from him. His heart pounded furiously at the close contact, yet he kept his eyes shut.

"Good boy."

Their lips made contact.

***

"Cloud!"

Cloud jumped at the sudden shout. He saw Barret looking down at him. He looked around and was surprised that he was still in his bed.

I didn't sleepwalk this time...I feel like hell, though.

"'Bout time you woke up." Barret said.

"Barret?" Cloud asked. "What are you doing in my room?"

"We're here! We've docked at Binah port!"

"Huh? I thought Elfe said we would be here around lunchtime."

"It is lunchtime!"

"I...overslept?"

_How long was I asleep? Twelve hours?_

"Tifa was gonna wake you up earlier, but then she figured you needed the rest, what with the sleepwalking and all that." Barret suddenly leaned forward and said, "You don' look good. You sit tight, Spikey."

Barret left his room. Cloud got up and looked at himself in the mirror in the bathroom. His face was a little red and his shirt was drenched in sweat. He also noticed that there was a rash on his forehead. He brushed his bangs down in an attempt to cover it, but they wouldn't stay down.

_How am I going to hide that?_

The other thing that bothered him was the dream. He now had a name for that voice, and he didn't like it. He also noticed that, just like the dreams where he was different people and animals, he had no control over his actions or emotions. He didn't normally lucid dream, but he had unintentionally started to get the hang of it during the time he was afflicted with the Stigma. The loss of control made him feel more vulnerable than it should have.

_And why the hell was I in bed with...Them? That's just messed up._

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Cloud called out.

The door opened and Barret, Tifa, and Aerith entered the room, with the latter carrying a first aid box.

"What's going on?"

"Have you seen yourself, Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah."

"We just want to check to see if you have a fever." Aerith said as she set the box down.

She opened it and pulled out a thermometer. Cloud opened his mouth and allowed her to slide it under his tongue. He closed his mouth and waited. Everyone seemed a little anxious as they waited for the thermometer to beep. Once it did, Aerith pulled it out and read the number.

"101.5." She frowned. "This isn't good."

"We have to get moving." Cloud stated.

"But Cloud, are you feeling up to it?"

"I have no choice, Aerith."

"Well, at least take some medicine before we get off."

She fished through the box and pulled out a pill bottle. She poured out two pills and handed them to Cloud. He popped them in dry.

"Thanks." He muttered.

"We'll let you get dressed." Tifa said. "We're going to be on the upper deck, so meet us there."

He nodded. The group left the room, leaving him alone. He changed out of his night clothes and took a cold shower before donning on his usual shirt, jeans, and jacket. He gathered his things and went to join the others.

Everybody was outside and walking down the ramp to the dock. Barret, Tifa, and Aerith were waiting for him at the top. He joined them in disembarking the boat. The mining crew was waiting for them, as well as Elfe. Elfe saw Barret and motioned him forward. He ran up to her.

"We should expect your return in two weeks, correct?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Contact me if anything changes."

"Aye, Captain."

Elfe turned her attention to the trio. "You three still have a ways to go before you reach Keter, but the longest part is over now. I wish you luck in getting to Mt. Kadmon."

"Thank you, Captain." Aerith said.

Elfe nodded and excused herself. Barret looked at Tifa and said, "It was good seein' you here, Tifa, jus' wish it was under better circumstances."

"Yeah." She agreed.

He looked at Aerith. "Aerith, it was nice meetin' you." Then Cloud. "You're tough, Spikey; I've seen it when we sparred. You better make it out alive."

"I don't plan on dying." Cloud said firmly.

They gave their goodbyes and Barret went to rejoin the mining crew.


	2. Part 2:  Pilgrimage

Binah smelled like fresh fish. It was a given, since there were many fishing boats and a seafood market right on the harbor. The town wasn't as big as Chesod, but it was still crowded. The buildings weren't modern, but they gave the place a cozier feel to it.

The group passed by many fisherman, residents, and tourists as they tried to find their way to the bus station, having to stop once to ask for directions. Though they were glad to be walking on land again, they were getting tired of it. Cloud was feeling it the worst. Though he was in better physical condition than Tifa, the Stigma was still bringing him down. Aerith was about to suggest getting a taxi when Tifa reported seeing the bus station up ahead.

There were many people in line for the next bus. The first thing they did was sit down on the nearest bench to rest. Aerith volunteered to check the bus schedule and headed off. She came back with a glum look on her face.

"We missed the last bus to Keter." Aerith said sadly. "The next one won't arrive until tomorrow."

Everyone let out a collective groan.

"First the boat, now this." Cloud said. "If Sephiroth does exist, then They're making this difficult on purpose."

Aerith stared briefly at him in reaction to his comment, but turned her head away and said, "What do we do now?"

The bus, now filled with everyone in line, drove off, leaving them alone. Tifa suggested, "What about buses to the next town? We could bus hop to Keter from there."

Aerith's face lit up. "Oh! That's a good idea! I'll go check right now!"

She turned around and started to run when she collided into someone. Cloud jumped out of his seat and managed to catch her before she lost her balance. The other person, meanwhile, managed to regain his balance without help.

"I'm so sorry!" Aerith quickly apologized. "I should have looked before I started running!"

The man she had bumped into had wild red hair and wore a lot of armbands. He wore jeans and a sleeveless shirt with the word "Yo" on it.

He grinned and said, "It's cool, I'm used to having the ladies run at me."

"Oh, you do?"

"Ye-wait, you sayin' you don't know who I am?"

"No?"

The man looked bummed. "Man, guess I'm not as famous as I thought I was." He grinned again. "I'm Reno from 'Reno and the Turks'; we're a traveling rock band. We're famous in Atziluth, but I guess we're not famous enough."

"Wait," Tifa spoke up, "you're Reno? I've listened to your group online before."

"Well what do you know: someone that actually listens to our music! We've released our music to the Internet and the radio stations in Atziluth, but we've yet to release our hits to the other continents."

"It explains why I've never heard of you guys." Cloud said.

"You too? With that crazy hair, I thought...huh?"

Reno walked up to Cloud and leaned towards his face. Cloud backed away and defensively asked, "What?"

"Your forehead; you got something black on it."

Cloud brushed his bangs down and said, "It's nothing; just a bruise."

"Nah, man, it looked too black to be a bruise. Wait a minute...is that Stigma?"

"Actually, it is." Aerith admitted.

Cloud shot a sideways glare at her.

"Well...I mean…" She looked guilty now.

"You serious?" Reno asked. "Holy shit. So you're actually going to Mt. Kadmon to get cured, right?"

She nodded.

"Reno." A new voice called out.

Everyone turned and saw a Yetziran man in a business suit approaching them. Reno waved a hand in Cloud's direction and said, "Tseng, you'll never believe this: this guy has the Stigma!"

_Great, now he's going to tell everyone else._

"Really now?" The man named Tseng looked at the group. "Pardon me for asking, but are you tourists waiting for the next bus?"

"We're not exactly tourists." Tifa admitted.

"We need to get to Mt. Kadmon as soon as possible." Aerith told him.

Tseng focused his attention on Cloud. "Because you have the Stigma? Is that correct?"

Cloud folded his arms.

"...May I see?"

"Not interested."

"Just let him see, Cloud." Aerith insisted. "He might want to help us out, just like Barret and Captain Elfe did."

Cloud groaned and parted his bangs back, revealing the Stigma. "There, happy now?"

Tseng's eyes widened. "It is the Stigma. If it's reached your head, then that means you only have days left. You need to get to Mt. Kadmon before it starts necrotizing."

"We know that already."

Tifa sighed. "And we've missed the last bus to Keter."

A look of determination appeared on Tseng's face. "Then it's settled: we'll take you to Keter ourselves."

Everyone let out a collective "What?!"

"But Tseng!" Reno protested. "Our next performance is at-!"

"We can reschedule it. Right now, getting our next prophet to Mt. Kadmon is more important."

"Wait...are you Sephiran, too?" Cloud asked.

"Am I? How could I not be when the word of Sephiroth is the truth?"

"That's-."

"Cloud," Tifa said warningly, "don't start anything."

"...Right." He instead said, "It would be great if you could take us, but I don't want us to be a bother."

"Please do not worry about that." Tseng reassured him. "There is enough room on our tour bus for you, and the band will be fine with your company."

Reno opened his mouth to protest again, but one look from Tseng made him close it. He gave a defeated shrug and started to walk off. Without turning around, he said, "I'll let Rude and Elena know, but I don't they'll be happy about this."

"Just tell them it's their manager's decision." Tseng said.

Aerith said to Tseng, "Thank you so much. I'm sure Sephiroth meant for this to happen."

"I believe that, too."

Tseng led the group in the direction Reno went off in. Just across the street was a sleek silver tour bus. Cloud wondered how they didn't notice that bus earlier. Now that he thought about it further, he wondered why Reno was at the bus station in the first place.

_I'll ask when I get the chance._

They boarded the bus. Past the driver's seat was a lounge with two plush sofas, carpeted floors, a TV, and a mini fridge. Sitting on the sofas were a bald man wearing sunglasses, a woman with short blond hair and clothes with fashionable tears in them, and Reno. Beyond the lounge they could see small beds set against the walls, along with a door they assumed led to the toilet.

"Pretty nice ride, isn't it?" Reno asked.

"It's luxurious for a band that isn't known worldwide." Cloud observed. "How were you able to afford it?"

"Our manager's rich."

Tseng cleared his throat before he could continue. "Let me introduce you to the rest of the band. You've already met Reno, our vocalist and guitar player. This is Rude, our drummer, and Elena, our bass player."

"Yo." Reno said with a halfhearted wave.

Rude grunted while Elena gave a nod of acknowledgement. Tseng folded his arms and said, "I expected a better greeting to our guests."

Reno let out a louder "Yo", Rude gave a louder grunt, and Elena actually said "Hello". Tseng shook his head and said, "I suppose that will do. I'll let our guests introduce themselves."

One by one, they gave their names. Tseng then excused himself, as he had to drive the bus.

_They don't have their own driver?_

The group sat down on the sofa across the band. The bus began to move as they sat in awkward silence.

Tifa was the one to break the ice.

"So how did you get started as a music group?"

"We were friends that just liked to play music." Reno explained. "We were playing for a local charity one day when Tseng found us. He became our manager and the next thing we knew, we were playing our music all over the continent."

"And how is it?" Aerith asked.

"Pretty sweet, though the constant travel can be tiring. I just hope we can one day be famous enough to go to Beri'ah and Yetzirah and perform there. I heard the ladies in Machut are particularly beautiful. Ain't that right, Rude?"

Rude didn't respond.

"Don't mind him, by the way; he almost never talks. By the way, how's the trip been so far?"

The group took turns explaining their journey to this point.

Elena spoke up, "There is one thing I want to know about you guys: why didn't you take the plane?"

Aerith fidgeted. "I know it would have been much easier, but I can't get on another plane after 12-13."

"Then why didn't Cloud get on by himself?"

"Because I want to be there to support him on his journey."

"That's real sweet and all, but if he had just gotten on a plane, he would have been at Keter in one day. By going with him and insisting that you go on a boat, you're just prolonging his suffering. So, really, why are you going with him?"

"I told you already! Besides, Cloud agreed to this idea!"

Cloud looked at Aerith, then at Elena, then back to Aerith.

_Elena actually makes a good point._

"Did you want to go to Keter for a different reason?" Elena accused.

"No!"

Reno tried to diffuse the situation. "Elena, chill out."

Tifa joined in, "Aerith, don't get upset over this."

"It's not just me, either!" Aerith went on. "Tifa also wanted to support Cloud!"

"Is she fine with going on a plane?" Elena kept pestering her.

"That's not important!"

"Yes it is! Just look at Cloud! The Stigma's gotten to this point already and he looks sick! He wouldn't be in this state right now if it wasn't for your stupid idea for all of you to get on a boat!"

"But it was because of 12-13-!"

"12-13, 12-13, would you stop that excuse already?!"

"Shut up, all of you."

The new voice startled everyone into silence. Rude glanced around the room and said, "12-13 is a good reason not to get on a plane again. Everyone was held at gunpoint, a few of them were shot...would you get on a plane after that happened? I wouldn't."

"Oh yeah," Reno said softly, "you were there, buddy."

"That said, if your friend wasn't afraid of flying, then you should have let him go. You could have used your combined money to get him a ticket. For a man whose life is at stake, it was thoughtless of you to take the longer route just because you can't take the shorter one."

Aerith lowered her head. Without another word, she stood up and walked further back into the bus. Cloud stood up and followed her. He reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. She stopped walking, but she didn't turn around.

"Aerith?" Cloud asked.

She sniffled and quietly asked, "Cloud? Why did you let me come with you?"

"Because you wanted to? I didn't mind."

"I...I have something to tell you. Can we sit?"

They went to the furthest bed and sat down. Cloud looked at Aerith's face and saw that she was on the verge of tears. He didn't know what to say, so he just listened.

"I meant it when I said I wanted to be there for you," she started, "but that wasn't the entire truth. You know I was excited to see you become the next prophet, even though you don't believe. I wanted to come with you because...because I wanted to see you become a prophet with my own eyes. Seeing you speak Sephiroth's word and writing the new Scroll would have been the most cherished moment of my life.

"But...those two were right. You've suffered more than you should have, and all because I wanted to go with you, because I was too afraid to fly on a plane. I...I'm so selfish!"

She broke down crying. Cloud looked down at the floor, still not knowing what to say. He sat in silence for a minute.

"Well?" Aerith sniffled. "Aren't' you going to say something?"

"You...you're not selfish." He finally said. "You've been there for me since we met on the stairwell. To be honest, I was pretty sure you were going to find a way to go with me even if I said 'no', and the whole 'wanting to see me become the next prophet' thing isn't a surprise to me either. I'll also admit that things could have been a lot simpler, but...I was actually afraid of being alone."

"You were?"

Cloud felt pained showing his vulnerable side to her, but he went on,"These dreams and sleepwalking episodes scare me. If I didn't have you and Tifa at my side, I think I would have gone insane in the first few days. I still have no intention of becoming a prophet, but I still appreciate the company."

Aerith wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "That still doesn't excuse what I've done, though."

"We're already halfway there, so don't beat yourself over it."

"...Okay. Thank you, Cloud."

They went back to the lounge together. The TV was on and everyone else was watching a special on Life Springs. The two sat down and watched the show with them. The cameraman was showing a shot of a puddle of dark green water lightly gushing out of a crack in the ground. The area around the water was filled with lush greenery and many wildflowers.

"Life Springs are sometimes found in unpopulated areas." The show's narrator explained. "They appear as dark green water bubbling up from cracks deep in the earth. While life flourishes in places where Life Springs are found, no animals ever drink from them. Scientists at the Gast Research Institute are currently researching the effects of Life Spring water consumption…"

"It's so pretty." Aerith said. "I wish I could see one of those in person."

"Why are we watching this again?" Reno asked.

"Because it doesn't hurt to watch a documentary now and then." Elena said. "Honestly, there's more to TV than news and action movies."

"Yeah, but these things are boring. Change the channel."

"After this is over."

Reno let out an exaggerated yawn and stretched his arms. Using this gesture as a distraction, he snatched the remote from Elena's hand. He let out a short cry of victory and changed the channel to the news.

"You sneak!" Elena shouted at him.

They started struggling for control of the remote. While Rude, Tifa, and Aerith watched the struggle with a mix of amusement and worry, Cloud kept his eyes on the TV. There was a discussion on next month's election. Two people were running to be Atziluth's next president, and the guests on the channel were squabbling on who would be most suited for the position.

"Palmer is wise and knows how best to preserve Atziluthian culture."

"He's an airhead! We need someone strong like Heideigger to look after our best interests."

"All he wants to do is start a war with Yetzirah! Palmer wants nothing more than peace and stability!"

"That fatty wants to make practicing Sephira a law! Heideigger encourages freedom of choice and wants better relations with Beri'ah."

"Beri'ah, but not Yetzirah!"

"That's because Yetzirah-!"

Elena grabbed the remote from Reno's grip and changed the channel to a kid's show. A man in a full body cat costume was bouncing around in a castle throne room, with moogle puppets bouncing around him.

"Heya, everybody!" The cat greeted. "How are we all doing today? Today we're exercising by bouncing! Come and bounce with-!"

"Oh hell no!" Reno shouted.

He dived at Elena and the struggle began again. Cloud got tired of this childish fighting and left the lounge. He picked a bed and set his things next to it. Though he hadn't eaten anything since he woke up, he still wasn't hungry. He was, however, tired, despite sleeping for twelve hours and only being awake for a few. He was also starting to feel nauseous. He took out his bottle and popped in a motion sickness pill. He noticed that he was starting to run low.

_Got to get more soon._

Cloud climbed into bed and shut his eyes.

***

Kumori was tied down and on the floor next to his wife and two children. The soldiers standing above them kept shouting things, yet he didn't know what they were saying. The one word they kept repeating, though, was "Sephiroth".

He didn't know why they were here. He and his family were simple Tsukihon farmers trying to make a living. They knew of the war that broke out, but they thought they were far away enough from the cities to be involved. He didn't expect soldiers from Atziluth to come barging in their home at midnight and keep them hostage.

"What do you want?!" He shouted.

One man kicked him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. His wife cried out his name and his kids started sobbing. The man shouted something at Kumori. Again, he used the repeated word.

"I don't know what you're saying!" Kumori became desperate. "Please! We're just farmers! We've never done anything!"

"Spare us, Great Leviathan!" His wife started praying. "Spare our family!"

Another man drew a sword and plunged it straight down her back. She screamed and struggled as blood began to pool underneath her. Kumori and his kids cried out for her. She soon stopped moving. The first man shouted at Kumori again.

"You monsters!" Kumori shouted back. "Murderers!"

The second soldier stabbed one of the children in the same manner. Her screams did not last long as her life faded away. The smell of blood filled Kumori's nose and he sobbed at the loss of his child. There was more shouting.

"Stop it!" He sobbed.

The last child was killed. The shouting continued, but Kumori lost the will to fight back. Absolute despair and a searing hot pain in his chest were the last things he felt.

***

"Cloud! Wake up, Cloud!"

Cloud's eyes shot open. His mind was still half asleep and focused on the dream. Tears flowed out of his eyes.

"Please! Stop it!" He pleaded. "We're just farmers! We...huh?"

Instead of the foreign soldiers, he was looking at Aerith and Tifa. Clarity returned to him, but the tears would not stop flowing. Aerith stroked his head while Tifa held his hand.

"It's okay, Cloud," Aerith said soothingly, "it was just a nightmare."

"It...it was so real." Cloud said. "I was a farmer from Tsukihon, and they came and murdered my family. I…"

"Tsukihon?" Tifa asked. "You mean Yetzirah?"

He nodded weakly. He now realized that he was hungry and feeling weak overall. He asked, "What time is it?"

"It's six at night." Aerith said.

"At least it wasn't another twelve hours."

"You got to be dehydrated." Tifa said.

She held a bottle of water out to him. He took it and gulped it all down in seconds. He said, "I'm hungry, too. Do we have any food on this bus?"

"Just salty snacks. Tseng's going to stop somewhere soon so we can have dinner. We'll bring you back some soup."

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on you." Aerith offered.

"...Thank you."

The girls gave him space to get out of bed. He stretched and they went back to the lounge. He saw that the band were in the same spots as he had left them, though Reno and Elena were no longer fighting over the remote. The TV was tuned in to a music channel. A group of young Yetziran adults were playing heavy metal and banging their heads.

Reno looked at Cloud and asked, "You alright, man? We could hear you screaming."

"Nightmare." Cloud said.

"Must've been one hell of a nightmare. I remember Rude screaming at night shortly after 12-."

Rude punched his shoulder before he could finish.

Elena said curtly, "Sometimes you really need to put a filter on your mouth, Reno."

"Yeah." He said, the guilt obvious in his voice. "My bad."

The bus stopped moving. Tseng entered the lounge and announced, "We're at an SFC's. How does fried chocobo sound?"

Reno stood up. "I'm game for some SFC's."

Tifa nodded in agreement. Rude just grunted.

"Not what I would pick, but okay." Elena shrugged.

"Cloud and I are actually going to stay here." Aerith said. "Can you get some chocobo noodle soup for him?"

"Absolutely." Tseng said. "And for you?"

"Anything's fine by me."

"Very well." He looked at Cloud and asked, "Are you okay? I heard you screaming earlier. I was going to stop the bus, but Tifa told me that you were just having a nightmare."

"I'll be fine." Cloud said those words, but he didn't sound entirely sure.

Everyone else filed out of the bus. He and Aerith sat on the sofa closest to the TV. He offered the remote to Aerith. She took it with a smile and started channel surfing. She soon found a music station that played Sephiran hymns. Cloud immediately felt unnerved.

"Aerith, can we actually listen to something else?" He asked. "I...I don't want to listen to those at a time like this."

"But the hymns always calm me down when I'm upset." She said. "If it makes you uncomfortable, though, you can find something."

She passed the remote back to him. He searched until he found a movie. The main lead was driving out of town in a stolen car with his fiance in tow. An angry mob of mothers was running after them and firing their machine guns.

"Damn, in-laws are the worst!" The hero shouted over the gunfire. "In-laws and their friends!"

The couple were soon on the highway. They soon stopped for gas at an abandoned gas station, only to find that it was being run by cactuars. The couple mimic their poses in hopes of trying to communicate with the cacti creatures.

"This is actually kind of silly." Aerith admitted.

"You've never seen _Crazy and Crazier_?" Cloud asked.

"No."

"It's a classic. It's about these two people that want to get married, but crazy things keep happening, so they're trying to find a place where they can get married in peace."

"Is it a romance?"

"Kind of. It's more of an adventure/comedy."

Everyone came back into the bus with buckets of fried chocobo and sides in their arms. Reno and Elena's eyes lit up when they saw what was playing on the TV. They quickly sat down and set their food next to their feet.

"I love this movie!" Reno grinned.

"It's one of the few movies I actually like." Elena said.

Rude just grunted. Tseng said, "We're hitting the road again. Rude, you take over driving once it hits nine."

Instead of grunting, Rude nodded. Tseng excused himself, leaving the others in the lounge. The others started eating as the bus began to move again. Tifa handed Cloud a container, plastic spoon, and two packets of crackers..

"They ran out of noodle soup," she said apologetically, "so I hope tomato's good. I also got some crackers to go with it."

"Thanks, Tifa." Cloud nodded.

Everyone ate dinner as they watched the couple drive away from the gas station. A cactuar popped out from the back seat. The man saw the creature in his rearview window and screamed. The woman and the cactuar also screamed. Reno laughed.

Cloud crushed the crackers over his soup. He scooped up a bit with his spoon and ate it. He realized that he was hungrier than he originally thought and began scarfing the soup down.

_Oh yeah, I forgot I didn't eat all day._

"Slow down, Cloud." Tifa told him.

"...Sorry."

He slowed down his eating. Aerith offered a biscuit to him, which he gratefully took. He wasn't full when he was done eating, but he also wasn't hungry anymore. Everyone continued to watch the movie after they were also done eating. Elena and Tifa made small talk while Reno kept laughing at all the funny parts in the movie.

Hours later, the bus came to a stop. Tseng entered the lounge and said, "Your turn, Rude. You got enough caffeine in you?"

Rude nodded and got up to take his place in the driver's seat. Tseng sat down next to Cloud on the sofa. Everyone was now watching a crime drama. He said to Cloud, "We finally get a chance to talk."

"Yeah."

"Actually, may we talk in the back?"

Cloud nodded. They both stood up and walked to the back of the bus. Cloud sat on his bed while Tseng sat on the bed opposite of him.

"I overheard your story about your journey so far." Tseng started. "From what I heard, you aren't too keen on being the next prophet. Do you not believe in Sephiroth?"

Cloud decided to go ahead and be blunt with his answer. "No, I don't. There are many things that the Scrolls don't answer, like what's beyond Assiah, or why we even exist. I also don't want to believe in a higher power that makes their prophets suffer like this."

"I can't even imagine what you're going through right now, or what the other prophets have gone through. This is just my personal opinion, but I think this is a test of faith. Well, in your case, it's testing your will to live."

"Test of faith? If I believed, I would have lost faith at this point."

"Understandable, but for the past prophets, it was worth it if they could have their own Reunion with Sephiroth and speak on Their behalf."

"A Reunion with Sephiroth...that doesn't sound like the Reunion that everyone celebrates."

Tseng propped his leg on his opposite knee. "Have you read the Scrolls?"

"Just the first three for class: Origin, Reunion, and Prophet."

"Then you should know the difference between the yearly Reunion and a Reunion with Sephiroth."

"Aerith's told me about the yearly Reunion. At the end of the year, people all meditate in Bracha Springs underneath Keter so they can feel closer to Sephiroth. Anyone that can't go to Keter do it in public bathhouses or bathtubs at home. The Reunion with Sephiroth…"

Cloud had to think back to Prophet before continuing, "It's between the afflicted and Sephiroth Themselves. It's...a meeting, I think? The Scrolls don't really say what it is."

"Prophet doesn't say what it is, but Love does." Tseng corrected.

"I haven't read that."

"Love is the most recent Scroll; it is also the shortest one. Love says that 'Lucrecia, the one of doubt, knew Sephiroth and the doubt was cleared. They shared knowledge and wisdom and she returned a wise prophet.'"

"What does that mean?"

"It means she temporarily became one with Sephiroth, just like how He did with Mother Jenova. It is a special right that all prophets are granted when they reach the cave at Mt. Kadmon."

_One...with Sephiroth?_

Cloud thought back to the dream with the bed and the kiss. He felt sick thinking about the implications of "being one" with a god. He forced himself to think of a different question to ask.

"So what's the gist of Love?"

"It's pretty much as it sounds. 'Love is a feeling that knows no limitations. Embrace all forms of love; do not let the concepts of blood, sex, gender, and status interfere with this feeling. If you know love, then you will know Me.' Most people remember those lines in particular."

_Blood, sex, gender, status...I agree with the last three, but is it implying that incest is okay? Well, this god did "know" His mother…_

"Huh. So why was this the shortest Scroll?"

Tseng brought his leg back down and lowered his head. He solemnly asked, "Do you not know what happened to Adam Lucrecia ten years ago?"

It came back to him.

_Cloud came home from school as usual. His mother was sitting in front of the TV with a box of tissues. He looked at the TV and saw that the news was on. He never really paid any attention to the news, but he was curious as to what was making his mother cry. His brain automatically tuned out the conversation between the news anchors, but the headline told him everything._

_**Adam Lucrecia Assassinated!** _

"She was killed by an unknown assailant." Cloud answered.

"Yes. Every other prophet had lived long lives before their time, but not Adam Lucrecia. No one had ever killed a prophet before, and for ten years, no one has been able to find her killer. Many people believe she was killed because of what was said in Love. Sephiroth chose others, but they either died in the labs or vanished on their way to Mt. Kadmon."

"Vanished? You think they were killed, too?"

"I think so, but no one has ever found the bodies."

An unwanted thought crossed Cloud's mind. "What about me?"

"You need to be careful, Cloud. It would be best if you didn't go alone, at least not until you reach the Bahamut."

"Maybe the Bahamut killed and ate them."

"Impossible. Sephiroth made the Bahamut to guard Their sacred abode. It kills everyone but the ones with the Stigma."

"How can it tell, though? Does it have to see the rashes? Does it smell you?"

"It just knows."

Cloud was not satisfied with that answer, but decided not to press it. Instead, he opted to end the conversation by saying, "I'm turning in for the night."

"Get some rest, then. With the way Rude and I are driving now, we should be at Keter in three days."

Tseng got up and left, leaving Cloud by himself. He went through his usual routine, except he decided to sleep in his normal clothes, since his night clothes stank of his sweat. He noticed the lack of a shower in the bathroom.

_Guess it can't have everything._

Cloud hoped he wouldn't sweat too much the next three days.

***

The dreams that night were a blur of images and ideas.

Cloud was in an unfamiliar town. Aside from himself, there were a few guys in army attire and two men, one with spikey black hair and one with long silver hair. They were here on a mission, though he didn't know what mission.

The town was in flames. Walking through the fire was the man with silver hair. Cloud knew that he did this, and he was angry.

He and the silver haired man fought in a contained room. Cloud managed to shove his opponent over the edge and into the green depths below. He lifted his head and saw the headless form of a female alien with pale blue skin before passing out.

The man with spikey black hair lay on the ground, dying of blood loss.

Cloud, Barret, and Tifa were fighting a major company in order to save the planet. They broke into their headquarters to rescue Aerith, along with a talking red animal. They see a long sword impaled on the company's president.

They travel the world, looking for the silver haired man. They make friends with a ninja girl, a stuffed cat on a moogle doll, a man dressed in red, and a gruff pilot. They were an odd crew.

They enter a temple and find out that the silver haired man wants to become a god. Cloud helps him against his will. They look for him again. The man impales Aerith with his sword.

They find him, but Cloud's mind is broken and he helps him again. A meteor is coming to damage the planet. Tifa helps Cloud fix his mind and they band together to save the planet. Great monsters are unleashed by the planet. The company gets destroyed and the city is in ruins.

They go back to where they found the man earlier, only to find that he had metamorphosed into a winged creature. They charge at it with everything they've got.

Everything turns green.

***

Cloud was very groggy when he woke up. The dream he had felt like it lasted forever. He sat up and saw that he was the only one in bed. He also noticed that the bus wasn't moving. He got up and headed to the lounge.

No one was there.

_I'm alone? Where did everyone go?_

He looked outside and caught a glimpse of silver hair.

_...No way. I'm still dreaming?_

He put on his shoes and went outside to check it out.

It was chilly and the sun was only starting to rise. He saw small patches of snow on the ground. He noticed that the bus was parked outside another fast food place, but no one was around. It felt like he had entered a ghost town.

_What the hell is going on here?_

Then he felt it: the feeling of being watched.

He clenched his fists and shouted, "I know you're here! Show yourself!"

_"You do not have to be afraid of Me, Cloud."_

The voice was right next to his ear. He turned around and swung a punch, but his fist hit air. He suddenly felt vulnerable out in the open, so he ran back into the bus. He didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid: afraid of what was happening to him, afraid that he might be losing his sanity, afraid of the voice that kept tormenting him.

_"Torment? Is that how you see it? I am only encouraging you."_

The voice was everywhere now. Cloud shouted, "Shut up! Go away! This is just a dream!"

Desperate to wake up, he pinched his cheek and pulled. When that didn't work, he banged his head against the wall. He was about to hit his head for the fifth time when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He froze.

_"You are doing so well in heeding My call. I look forward to our Reunion, Cloud."_

Cloud turned around and swung another punch. This time, his fist made contact with flesh. However, he felt his blood go cold when he saw who he punched.

"A-Aerith?"

She fell to the floor, unconscious. The lounge suddenly became crowded with the other passengers. Tseng rushed to Aerith's side while the others stared at Cloud in shock.

"What the hell, Cloud?!" Reno exclaimed.

_It...wasn't a dream?_

"I-I thought it was-I…" Cloud didn't know how to respond. He clutched onto his head.

Tifa cautiously approached him. She tried soothing him. "Calm down, Cloud. Can you tell us what happened?"

Cloud took a shuddering inhale, then told her everything. When he was done, he asked, "Where were you? Why did you leave me alone?"

"We were getting breakfast, duh." Elena said as she held up two bags of food.

Tifa looked guilty as she explained, "Since you didn't sleepwalk the last two times, we thought it would be fine to leave you alone. Cloud, I'm so sorry."

"No...I'm sorry." He looked at Aerith. "I need to apologize to her when she wakes up."

Tseng picked her up halfway and set her against the wall. His expression was grim as he said, "Hallucinations are another symptom of the Stigma. If it happens again, don't react so violently. Remember: they can't directly hurt you."

_Yeah...they can't...they can't…_

***

The next two days on the bus were tense. Aerith did forgive Cloud for hitting her, but now everyone was wary of him. Cloud felt like a freak, even though Aerith, Tifa, and Tseng reassured him that he was not. The other members of the band kept their opinions to themselves.

Cloud had more dreams like the last one, as well as seeing glimpses of silver in his waking state. His fever was getting worse, as the most recent thermometer reading read 102.8. He also saw that the rash had now appeared on his genitals and the area surrounding them. He felt like he was getting more paranoid with each passing day. The only things that kept him from breaking were his friends and the thought that he was getting closer to the cure.

They arrived at Keter on the afternoon of the third day.

When Tseng announced that they had arrived, everyone in the lounge peered through the windows. A light snow covered the buildings of the city. It was bigger than the port towns, but not nearly as big as Malchut, and nowhere near as modern. People were dressed in winter clothes, even though winter didn't start in two more months.

Occasionally, they would spot red felines walking among the people. Cloud had never seen a Khatul in real life, but he knew that they were slightly bigger and more intelligent than the average housecat, and that they only lived in Keter. He remembered wanting one as a pet when he was a kid.

_"Absolutely not." His mother told him. "Khatul are smarter, and a whole lot more stubborn, than normal cats. Besides, they're way too expensive to buy. I can get you a cat if you really want a pet, but not a Khatul."_

_"But mom! I promise to take really good care of it!" Cloud pleaded._

_"No buts, Cloud. You can either have a cat or no pet at all."_

The bus stopped in front of a fancy hotel. Tseng entered the lounge and announced to the band, "Reno, Rude, Elena, we're going to be staying here for tonight. I've talked with the event planners about our situation and they've moved the concert date to next week. We can take a break tomorrow and head out the day after."

"Hell yeah!" Reno cheered. "We finally get a day out of the bus!"

"I could really use a bath," Elena said, "and a real bed would be nice, too."

Rude, as usual, didn't say anything.

Tseng looked at Cloud and the others and said, "I recommend you buy warmer clothes for the rest of the journey. I also suggest you start tomorrow morning; the trip up Mt. Kadmon can take at least half a day."

"Thank you so much for taking us here." Aerith said with a big smile.

Cloud stepped forward and muttered, "Sorry for being a nuisance."

"You are afflicted with the Stigma, Cloud," Tseng reassured him, "it couldn't be helped."

"But you cancelled a concert for this."

"Yeah, that was a bummer." Reno agreed with him.

Tseng shot him a look and told him, "There will always be more concerts, and helping our next prophet is more important."

Reno turned his head away. The group gathered their things and followed the band outside. Though they were dressed warmly, the cold still hit them hard. They definitely had to buy heavier clothes while they were here. Everyone faced each other for their goodbyes.

"Thank you again for the ride." Tifa said.

"It was our pleasure." Tseng nodded.

Reno put on his grin and admitted, "It was a bummer we had to cancel our concert, but at least the trip wasn't boring."

"...Come see one of our performances soon." Rude said, his gaze focused more on Tifa than the others.

"Yeah!" Elena agreed. "You should go to one of our concerts!"

"...Not interested.." Cloud dismissed.

With those words said, the two groups parted ways. Cloud pulled out his PHS and booted up the navigation module. He frowned when he saw the distance to the entrance to the mountain path.

"It's five miles from here." He announced. "You think they would have dropped us off closer."

"That's what taxis are for." Tifa shrugged.

Aerith rubbed her arms and said, "Let's find a hotel first, then get warmer clothes."

Everyone agreed to that plan. They started walking the streets and kept an eye out for any taxis. Tifa was the first to spot one and she waved it down. Everyone put their things in the trunk and they crowded into the back seat.

The driver was a gruff man with a buzzcut. He didn't look at them when he asked, "Where to?"

Cloud looked on his PHS for a hotel closest to the mountain path entrance. He found a small, noncommercial hotel that had cheap prices. He told the driver, "Highwind Lodge."

The taxi made its way to their destination. Looking out the window, Cloud could see Mt. Kadmon in the distance. On its front was a large crater. Scientists had determined that it was the result of a meteor landing thousands of years ago. Sephirans believed that was where Sephiroth first came to Assiah.

They had arrived outside the lodge minutes later. The building itself was long and rectangular, and it had two stories, yet it wasn't big like other lodgings. It was also made of wood, making it stand out from the other buildings in Keter. The sign for Highwind Lodge was partially buried in snow. The group paid for the ride and entered the lodge.

The warmth of the large fireplace was welcoming. Animal mounts and photographs of different aircraft hung on all four walls. There were chairs placed by the fireplace and a rack of brochures near the door. The lodge receptionist, a woman with auburn hair and glasses, greeted them, "Hello! Welcome to Highwind Lodge, the coziest place in Keter."

"It does feel cozy in here." Aerith said.

Cloud approached the desk and asked, "Do you have any rooms left?"

Tifa cut in, "Actually, do you have any connecting rooms available?"

The receptionist shook her head. "I'm sorry, but we don't have any connecting rooms here. I can offer you a room with two beds and a sofa for 200 gil a night, though."

"We'll take it, then."

The receptionist pulled out a key with the number 15 tagged on it and handed it to Cloud. She said, "Your room is up these stairs and at the end of the hallway. My name is Shera. If you have any concerns, don't hesitate to call the front desk."

They thanked her and made their way up the creaky wooden steps. They followed Shera's instructions and found the room without any problems. Cloud unlocked the door and they went on in.

As promised, there were two plush beds and one sofa. They immediately noticed the absence of a TV, though no one said anything about it. The window held a view of Mt. Kadmon. Cloud approached the window and pressed his hand against the cold glass.

_Mt. Kadmon. We're almost there._

Cloud felt a slight tug in his heart. Staring at the mountain, he felt the urge to go there right now. In his mind, nothing else mattered.

_"Cloud."_

"Cloud?"

The close proximity of Tifa's voice snapped him out of it. He felt like a fog had just lifted from his brain. He asked, "What is it?"

"Were you even listening?"

Cloud didn't respond. Tifa went on, "I said that I saw a clothing store close by. We should go ahead and get those clothes now."

"Oh...yeah…"

They left their things behind and went out together. They walked to the store that Tifa saw and purchased clothes that would keep them warm enough. Cloud made sure to get a hat to cover the Stigma on his forehead. The sun was starting to set by the time they got back.

When they entered the lodge, they saw an older man with short blond hair yelling at Shera.

"Whaddya mean we're outta wood?!" He shouted.

"I'm sorry, Cid," Shera apologised, "but there wasn't any wood for sale at Dyne's today."

"Dyne's outta wood?! Bullshit!"

"He said that everyone bought out his entire stock earlier today."

"Then go buy wood at another store, chop some goddamn trees down, just get something so we don't freeze our fuckin' asses tonight!"

The man named Cid stormed off. Aerith glared at the direction Cid took off in. She remarked, "What a rude man."

"That's Cid, the owner of the Highwind Lodge." Shera explained. "He's usually nice, but he's in one of his bad moods today."

"Never would have guessed that guy was the owner." Cloud shrugged.

"Yeah," Tifa agreed, "he doesn't seem like the type of person to run a lodge."

Shera walked out from behind the front desk and stood near one of the walls. She looked up at the photographs and said, "You're right; he isn't that type of person. He used to build and repair airplanes years ago. One day, he did a test flight of a fighter jet with an improved engine. If it worked, he would sell the idea to Atziluth's air force."

"And it didn't work." Cloud said.

"...It was more than just that. The engine failed in mid flight, the parachute couldn't be deployed, and he crashed. He survived, but he was hospitalized for weeks. After that, he couldn't bring himself to approach anything that would fly another person.

"He looked for work and found Icicle Lodge. He was the best worker and, when the original owner passed away, he took over. He renamed the place to Highwind Lodge and hung all these pictures you see here." Shera paused before admitted, "I think I might have said too much."

"Thank you for telling us, though." Aerith said.

"Well, I should find someone and tell them to get wood from somewhere else. Please take care."

Shera walked away and left through a door behind the front desk. The group took one more look at all the photos before heading back to their room. Cloud plopped down on the nearest bed. It was most likely due to the Stigma, but today was tiring.

Tifa announced that she would go out to buy dinner for everyone. She and Aerith agreed on sandwiches. While Cloud didn't have any preference on what to eat, Tifa said that she would get him soup. She bundled up in her new clothes and headed out.

Cloud didn't remember much of what happened afterwards. He fell in and out of sleep. He knew that he drank chocobo noodle soup and that someone helped him out of his day clothes, but the rest was blurry.

***

_"You're almost there, Cloud."_

Cloud's eyes fluttered. It was dark, but he could tell from the feel of the bed that he was still in the room. He didn't bother looking for the voice this time. Instead, he closed his eyes.

"What do you want with me?" He mumbled.

_"You know what I want."_

"But why me? I don't believe-."

_"And yet you are talking to Me now. You are starting to believe."_

"...No I'm not. I'm sick and hallucinating a voice that calls itself Sephiroth."

_"Continue to tell yourself that. You will realize the truth once we have our Reunion."_

"And if I die before then?"

_"You won't die; your will to live is too strong, and you already know what you must do to live."_

"...Still not going to be a prophet."

_"You will, Cloud. You will."_

***

Cloud was very groggy when Aerith shook him awake. She told him that it was breakfast time, and that they had to leave as soon as possible. He got up and took a shower first. Looking over himself, he saw that there was now a rash on his chest.

_What's left for it to cover? My back? My face?_

When he was done, he headed to the downstairs dining area to join the girls.

The smell of cooked bacon filled the air. There were trays of eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, bagels, and two pots of grits and oatmeal. The other guests were sitting down and enjoying their breakfast. Despite Cloud not being hungry, Aerith still made him eat a bowl of oatmeal.

While they ate, Aerith pulled out a brochure that she took from the lobby. It was about Mt. Kadmon and the lodge that was there. She read through it and gave the short version to the others.

"In addition to the main path, it also has a few side trails." She said. "Halfway up the mountain is a lodge and museum dedicated to the past prophets. People can go further up the trail until they reach the barricade, then they have to go back."

"Because of the Bahamut." Cloud said.

She nodded. Cloud looked at the pictures in the brochure and noticed something. He pointed out, "Cosmo Lodge looks a lot like Highwind Lodge."

"I wonder if they were built by the same people." Tifa suggested.

When they were done, they bundled up in their winter clothes, got their things together, and checked out. Tifa hailed another taxi and had the driver take them as close to Mt. Kadmon as possible. Cloud looked out the windows and stared at Mt. Kadmon. Again, he felt the pull from yesterday. He was anxious to get there.

At the end of the drive, they reached a parking lot. There were already a few vehicles parked, including a few black vans with the AGB logo. Everyone's curiosity was peaked.

"What are vans from Assiah Global Broadcasting doing here?" Tifa asked. "Are they doing a show at the lodge?"

"Great," Cloud grumbled, "more people." He pulled his hat down to his eyebrows.

They paid the driver and stepped out into the harsh cold. They approached the snow covered trail, which was marked by wood posts connected by rope. They wrapped their scarves tightly around their faces and began their trek up the mountain.

The walk was miserable. Even with the warmer clothes on, the cold was bad, and the wind made it worse. As time passed, it slowly became harder to walk through the snow. The only thing they had to be thankful about was that it wasn't snowing too hard. Once in awhile, they would find a bench underneath a simple wooden structure with a roof over it. They stopped to rest at every bench they came across.

More time passed, and the group decided that they would eat at the next bench they came across. Cloud set his backpack down and pulled out bags of trail mix and jerky, as well as three bottles of water. They all wished they had something warm, but they had to make do.

"How are you doing, Cloud?" Tifa asked him.

Cloud didn't answer. He was cold, yet he felt like he was burning up at the same time. He was slightly dizzy, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep, yet a part of him didn't feel like giving up.

"Cloud?"

He finally answered, "I can keep going. The sooner we get to Cosmo Lodge, the better."

They finished up and resumed their trek. The food gave them the energy to go on, but it wasn't much better. Aerith suggested that they think of warm things to help them keep going. Cloud thought about his mom's homemade chili, a fireplace, and hot cocoa.

After a few more bench rests, they could see a light up ahead. They picked up the pace until they could see the lodge more clearly through the snow. Just like the picture in the brochure showed, it looked very similar in design to the Highwind Lodge, except it was about half its size. Tifa opened the door and they went on in.

There were several people crowded in the foyer. Several cameras were set up around the sofa and chairs near the fireplace. There were two men sitting in the chairs across from each other. One was an old man with a short beard and dressed in heavy clothing, despite being close to the lit fire. The other was a younger man in a business suit. The other four people handled the cameras and microphone.

When Cloud closed the door behind them, the others turned to look at them. The man in the business suit made a cutting gesture with his hand to the camera crew. Cloud felt like they had unintentionally interrupted something.

The old man stood up and greeted, "Welcome to the Cosmo Lodge, travelers. Are you here for the museum, or are you staying the night?"

"We're here for the night, maybe two." Cloud said.

"Very well, let me check you in." He looked at the man in the business suit and told him, "Let's take a few minute break while I get them settled in."

The other man nodded. "Very well. Let me know when you're ready to resume."  
Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith went up to the front desk and waited for the old man to get there. Once he did, he pulled out a sign-in sheet, which they filled out individually. He went to the key cubbies behind the desk and stopped.

"Uh oh." He said.

"What is it?" Aerith asked.

"It looks like we're actually out of rooms. Truth be told, we have a lot of people staying here tonight. Ho ho hoooo, how unusual."

The man in the business suit chimed in, "I'm afraid it's our fault. We thought we could stay overnight, since not many people come during this time."

One cameraman, a man with black hair, offered, "We could all share a room. That should free up a room for those people."

"And share a bed with you guys?" A large, burly man asked. "No way. Just because you're gay doesn't mean the rest of us are."

"Then sleep on the floor, Azul."

Azul looked at the only woman in his crew and suggested, "Maybe we could share, Rosso."

She gave him a piercing glare in response. The remaining member of the crew, a man with white hair, said, "It doesn't bother me either-."

"Then you can share with me, Weiss." The one with black hair jumped in.

"It's kind of you to offer, Nero," the man in the suit said, "but you need to work out the arrangements as soon as possible."

"Yeah, we'll do that right now, since we're on break."

The crew shuffled out of the foyer. Aerith looked at the man and said, "Thank you for letting us have a room."

"You should be thanking my crew, really." He walked up to them and offered a hand. "I'm Reeve Tuesti."

Aerith shook his hand and introduced herself and the others. Tifa asked, "Reeve Tuesti, huh? Why does that sound familiar?"

"I produce travel documentaries on the Globe channel." He fingered a cat shaped pin on his jacket. "I'm also the director of _Cait Sith and Friends_."

" _That's_ where I've heard it from! I've actually watched that show with Marlene a few times before."

"Marlene?" Cloud asked. "Barret's daughter?"

"Yeah. Once in awhile I would come visit them on my days off." She turned her attention back to Reeve. "Are you filming a documentary here?"

"Yes." He gestured towards the old man. "I was interviewing Bugenhagen about Cosmo Lodge's history."

"Can we watch?" Aerith asked excitedly.

"You can as long as you do not disturb us. We're going to start again in a-."

"Out!" A new, female voice shouted from upstairs. "Get out you pest!"

A Khatul suddenly came bounding down the stairs. A young Yetziran woman with a camera around her neck stood at the top. She continued to shout, "Don't go in my room again you mangy cat!"

The Khatul sneezed and approached Cloud. Up close, he could see that there was a scar across one of his eyes, which was sealed shut. He sat down next to his feet and stared at him.

The old man, Bugenhagen, gently reprimanded the young woman "Now, now, I've already told you how curious Nanaki can be. You did shut and lock your door, yes?"

She looked flustered as she answered, "I did shut my door, but I didn't lock it. I didn't think that cat could open doors!"

Nanaki sneezed again.

"With the way the knobs are, he can very easily jump up open it that way. That's why you must lock it if you don't want him snooping in your room. By the way, Nanaki hates it when you call him a cat instead of a Khatul."

"Really?"

She walked downstairs and up to Nanaki. She crouched down to his level and said, "Cat."

He sneezed.

"Cat."

He sneezed louder.

"Caaaaaaaaat."

He smacked her nose with his paw. She recoiled and clutched onto her face. She shouted, "It hit me!"

"You kept provoking him." Cloud pointed out the obvious.

She glared at him, then at Nanaki, and she let out a short huff before going back upstairs. Cloud muttered, "How annoying."

Nanaki purred as if agreeing with him.

"Ho ho hoooo, little spitfire, isn't she?" Bugenhagen noted. "She claims to be the leading photographer of Assiah Geographic, Yuffie Kisaragi, but I've never heard of her. Little thing thinks that she can get a photo of the Bahamut."

"Photograph the Bahamut?" Aerith asked, her eyes wide. "But it will kill her if she gets close!"

"That's what I told her, too, but she also claims that she's a ninja that can get out of any situation. I can't do much else to stop her, I'm afraid."

At this time, the crew came back downstairs. They, along with Reeve and Bugenhagen, got back into their starting positions. Cloud and the others stayed against the furthest wall and observed in complete silence. Nanaki followed Cloud and stayed by his feet.

One of the cameramen gave the signal that the camera was rolling, and Reeve and Bugenhagen's conversation continued.

"So you said that Cosmo Lodge was built after Adam Zack became a prophet?" Reeve asked.

"Yes." Bugenhagen answered. He scratched his beard as he went on, "It was Adam Zack's idea, actually. He mainly wanted a resting place for future prophets to stay at during their pilgrimage. He chose this spot in particular because it was close to where Adams Genesis and Angeal were buried. That location is now the Prophet's Graveyard as we know today."

"And every prophet has been buried there?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me how the Cosmo Lodge also became a museum dedicated to the past prophets?"

"Adam Gillian started the museum. Though the Scrolls record the prophets' words, she wanted to preserve their visiages, as well as allow them to portray their love for Sephiroth in their own ways. She helped to display Adam Genesis' poems from before he became a prophet, and she composed the first hymn. It was also because of her that someone comes to paint the portraits of-."

The door opened up. Cloud's eyes widened, as did the eyes of Tifa and Aerith. They had not expected to see them here, especially since they had given their goodbyes yesterday.

"Woo!" Reno breathed out. "It's too damn cold out there!"

Reeve made the cutting motion again. While he and the rest of his crew looked annoyed that they were interrupted again, Bugenhagen appeared to be amused. He chuckled and said, "Ho ho hoooo, I didn't think we would get more company."

Rosso groaned. "Great, now we all have to share a single room instead of two."

Cloud stepped away from the wall and asked Tseng, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Just doing a little sightseeing." Tseng answered nonchalantly. "I found out that the band had never been here before, so I suggested that we spend the night here."

"You knew we were going to be here," Tifa pointed out, "so why the goodbyes yesterday?"

"I didn't initially think we would come up here."

"That and Reno was already missing you guys." Elena teased.

"No I wasn't!" Reno snapped.

Aerith spoke up, "Are you sure you didn't come here to see Cloud-."

"Aerith." Cloud interrupted her.

"Admittedly," Tseng said, "I would like to see that happen, too. It's not something that happens every day."

Bugenhagen grinned and said, "Ho ho hoooo, I understand now. So Cloud is going to be the next prophet, is he?"

Cloud groaned. Aerith looked a bit guilty as she said, "Sorry, Cloud. I keep forgetting."

"Oh, it wasn't just that. Nanaki and his family have always stayed close to the prophets and those with the Stigma; they just know somehow."

The film crew and Reeve stared at Cloud. Reeve asked, "Is this true?"

He said nothing.

"This really is a rare moment." Everyone could hear the excitement in Reeve's voice. "May we see the Stigma? Would you mind doing an interview? You can talk about your life before you become-."

"Not interested."

Cloud stormed upstairs. He went into the closest open door and shut himself in. He dropped his backpack and threw himself face first on one of the beds. He groaned.

_Why is everyone making a big deal out of this? Out of me?_

He felt something move next to him. He lifted his head and saw Nanaki staring at him with his one good eye. He hadn't even noticed that he was following close behind him like he did earlier.

"What do you want?" He asked him.

Nanaki only stared back.

"...Just leave me alone."

Cloud plopped his head back down. Judging from the lack of movement on the bed, Nanaki was still there. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

***

Cloud had the same dream as last time. Once more, the images of people and events flashed before him. This time, he recognized more people. He recognized Cid, Reeve, Yuffie, Bugenhagen, Shera, and Nanaki, though he was the size of a dog instead of a large cat. He realized that he had seen them last time, yet he hadn't even met them in real life back then.

_...No way. First I see them here, now I see them when I'm awake? What the hell?_

_"Do you believe this is a coincidence?"_

Cloud wanted it to be a coincidence, but he couldn't deny that there was something going on. The images vanished altogether, leaving him surrounded by dark green. He felt like he couldn't deny what was happening anymore.

"If You are real, then why are You showing me these things? What do they mean?"

_"All that I have shown you are your memories."_

The other dreams flashed before Cloud's eyes.

"No they're not. I would have remembered being a malboro, or a woman, or.." He realized something. "They aren't real. That place with me, Tifa, and the others isn't Assiah: it's somewhere that doesn't even exist!"

_"No, it doesn't."_

That answer surprised Cloud. He hadn't expected Them to admit it outright. However, he was even more confused now.

_"It doesn't exist anymore. However, everything that happened there was real."_

A high pitched ringing suddenly pierced Cloud's ears. Many images appeared in split second intervals.

The blue skinned alien female.

A man with silver hair and green eyes, walking away from a burning town.

Cloud knocking the man over the edge, thinking that he had killed him.

_"Everything was real."_

Cloud's eyes turning green as he kneeled before the silver haired man.

The man descending from above and stabbing Aerith with his sword.

Cloud giving a black orb to the silver haired man.

_"I will answer all your questions, but you are running out of time."_

Cloud hovering in a river of green, his mind completely shattered.

A meteor approaching the planet.

Cloud and his friends facing off against a grotesque, but divine being.

_"Come to Me, where you belong, where you've always belonged."_

Everything turned dark green, then black.

***

Cloud woke up feeling very ill. He scrambled out of bed and looked for the bathroom. He spotted an open door and ran through it. Seeing that it was a bathroom, he knelt in front of the toilet. As soon as he opened his mouth, he coughed and vomited black fluid.

Outside the room, he could hear a distinct cry. It sounded like a yowl, but deeper. He vomited again. He put a hand to his head and found that he was burning up and sweating. He had never felt this horrible before.

The yowling continued until he heard two sets of footsteps approach him.

"Cloud?" He recognized Tseng's voice.

"We need to get him out of those clothes," an unfamiliar, grave voice said, "they're only making it worse."

Someone went to work removing Cloud's hat and coat. He coughed and vomited into the toilet bowl once more. He felt a hand rest on his back after his coat was removed.

"Are you okay now?" Tseng asked.

Cloud gave a weak nod and rested his head on the lid. He didn't think he was going to vomit anything else, but he still felt terrible. A different hand lightly grabbed his left arm, which he now realized felt sticky.

"Remove the rest of your clothes." The new voice instructed.

"...Huh?" Cloud managed to say.

"You need to clean up."

Cloud got to his feet and looked at the ones who came to his aid. Aside from Tseng, there was a man with unkempt black hair and dark circles under his eyes. He was dressed in a red long sleeved shirt and black pants.

Cloud eyed the open door. Tseng seemed to know what he was thinking and he closed the door for a small amount of privacy. Cloud removed his two layers of shirts first. He looked at his left arm in shock.

It was oozing and stank of decaying flesh.

_Necrosis…_

The man in red looked at Tseng and told him, "Start the bathtub; run it lukewarm and keep it shallow."

He followed the instructions without saying anything. Cloud removed his shoes, socks, two layers of pants, and his boxers. He felt relief once he was rid of the clothes that trapped in his body heat.

The man in red pulled out a long strip of toilet paper and wadded it up. He took Cloud's arm and gently patted the Stigma with it. The wad absorbed some of the ooze, but he had to make another one to continue his work. Cloud tensed up when he realized something else was wrong: he couldn't feel anything when the wad pressed against the affected area.

Tseng turned the faucet off. He took a rag that was placed on a corner of the bathtub and offered it to Cloud. He asked, "Can you bathe yourself?"

"Yeah." He took the rag. He looked at the man that tended to his arm and said, "Thanks...uh…?"

"Vincent."

Hearing the name made Cloud remember his dream counterpart. He was the only one in the dream that he had not met in real life, until now. He and Tseng left the bathroom.

Cloud sat in the shallow water and dipped the rag in it. He wiped the sweat off his body, being especially careful around the areas where the rashes were, even though he couldn't feel anything there. So far, the rash on his left arm was the only one that was oozing.

Once he was done, he dried himself off. He grimaced when he saw that some of the ooze had rubbed off on the towel. He stared at it, then at the black vomit in the toilet bowl. He knew he had to get to the cave in Mt. Kadmon soon.

He flushed the toilet and wrapped a clean towel around his waist before exiting the bathroom. Waiting for him outside was Nanaki. Cloud remembered the yowling from earlier.

"That was you making a fuss earlier, wasn't it?" He asked. "Did you do that so that someone would come help me?"

Nanaki swished his tail.

"Thanks."

He purred.

Cloud looked around the room and saw that Aerith and Tifa's heavy clothes were spread out on the other bed. He took out some of his clothes and changed into them. He looked at the clock: 7:23. Even though he wasn't hungry, he decided to go downstairs anyways.

Nanaki continued to follow him all the way to the dining area. There were several round tables set up, and most of the guests were already sitting down and eating. The only ones that weren't there were Aerith, Nero, and Vincent. To his surprise, he saw an additional guest.

"Cid?"

The man lifted his head up, his mouth full of food. He swallowed and asked, "Yeah, what'dya want?"

Everyone else turned their heads when they heard Cloud speak. He said, "I didn't expect to see you here?"

"You suggestin' I can't leave Highwind Lodge to come visit ol' Bugenhagen?"

"I-no-I mean, that's nice?"

Bugenhagen said, "Cid comes by once in awhile to visit. If anything's not working right, he'll fix them, too."

"I see."

Tifa motioned over to Cloud. He came and sat down next to her. She said, "Tseng told me what happened. Are you okay now?"

"Still feel like hell," he reported, "but at least I've stopped throwing up. Where's Aerith at?"

"She's looking around the museum. I've looked at it and it's not really that big, just some portraits and glass cases full of books and pictures."

"May I get you something?" A woman's voice asked.

Cloud turned his head and saw a woman with long, natural red hair and glasses. What stood out the most were her missing left arm and the eyepatch covering her left eye behind the glasses. Cloud asked, "You work here?"

"Yes." She extended a hand. "I'm Shalua. My younger sister and I live and work here."

Cloud took the hand and shook it. "I'm-."

"Cloud, right? I've already heard about you from Bugenhagen and Vincent."

"Vincent?" Cloud was honestly curious about that man. He asked, "Does he work here, too?"

"Yes," Shalua nodded, "he may not look like it, but he's actually the cook here."

Yeah, he doesn't look like a cook.

"So, can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

"Just water." Cloud said.

"Okay then. It'll won't take a minute." She looked down at Nanaki, who was still sitting by Cloud's feet, and asked, "Do you want some dinner, Nanaki?"

Nanaki perked up at the mention of dinner and got to his feet. He followed Shalua into the kitchen. She shortly came back with a glass of ice water and handed it to Cloud. He drank the whole glass in one go.

He sighed, "I really needed that."

She changed the topic, "So, necrosis has already started, right."

He nodded grimly.

"You need to go first thing tomorrow."

"I know."

"Um...Cloud?"

"Yeah?"

Tifa fidgeted. "There's actually something...no." She shook her head. "I can tell you when you come back."

"You sure?"

"...Yes. Just...you really don't plan on becoming a prophet, do you?"

"My mind hasn't changed."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You've always been a fighter, Cloud; you never gave up on anything."

Cloud thought back. He had always been fighting bullies and thugs, and that history prevented him from joining the army. He resolved to be better so that he could join one day. He was determined to join so that he could be a hero, and he was not giving on that idea anytime soon.

He stood up and said, "I'm going to check out the museum."

Tifa nodded and went back to her meal. Cloud left the dining area and went through the large open doorway to the museum.

The walls were lined up with portraits of the past prophets. Below some of them were glass cases filled with various items, though it was mostly books. Aerith and Nero were the only ones present. He walked up to Aerith, who was looking at a portrait of a young man with short silver hair and green eyes.

"Who's this?" Cloud asked.

Aerith turned her head and said, "Cloud! Are you okay?"

"Could be worse. I've got to leave tomorrow."

"Yeah, oh." She looked at the portrait again. "This is Adam Genesis. He was a poet before he became a prophet. His books are displayed here, though you can't really read them anymore."

Cloud looked down at the glass case. There were three open books on display. The pages were old and wrinkled, and the words were faded. He could make out the words "bliss", "Assiah", "guide", and "divine".

"It's fascinating to see their portraits and belongings." Aerith said.

"I guess."

He moved on to look at the other portraits. He quickly noticed that they all had silver hair and green eyes with slitted pupils. They also wore black robes which made them look a bit sinister, but he didn't know if it was intentional or not. He knew that there was no way they were all originally that way.

_What happened to them?_

He came up to Nero, who was looking at a single portrait of three teenage boys. It stood out as the only portrait with multiple people in it. He asked Nero, "Did those three become prophets at the same time?"

"Yes." Nero answered without looking at him. "Have you not read Family?"

"No."

"It's about three orphaned brothers that wanted nothing more than a family. Adams Yazoo, Loz, and Kadaj looked up to Sephiroth as both a father and mother. One day, all three of them got the Stigma at the same time. They went to the cave in Mt. Kadmon and found that they were indeed loved by Them. They taught the brothers that everyone on Assiah is family, since they were all created by Them."

Nero placed a hand over his heart. "This Scroll has always resonated with me."

"How come?" Cloud asked.

"I never had a family, either, but then I realized that everyone is family. Sephiroth is a father and mother to me, and I see Weiss as a brother."

_Everyone is family? Can't see that happening._

Cloud shook his head. He wasn't getting anything out of being here. He left and headed back to his room. Despite the nap, he was still tired. When he arrived at his room, he saw Nanaki sitting on his bed, waiting for him.

"What's your interest in me?" He asked him.

Nanaki only stared.

"Can you at least let me have my bed?"

The Khatul jumped off the bed. Cloud climbed into it and switched the bedside light off. He closed his eyes, but he didn't fall asleep immediately. He eventually heard two people enter the room.

"Poor Cloud," he heard Tifa say, "he's been through so much. He's going to have to go to that cave tomorrow on his own."

He heard Aerith's voice respond, "I hate seeing him like this, too, but everything will be better once he comes back as the next prophet."

"You still believe that?"

"Of course. Every afflicted that has come to Sephiroth has returned as Their prophet. I mean, that is what Sephiroth wants, after all."

"Aerith, you don't know Cloud like I do. Nobody can change his mind. Besides, don't you believe in him?"

"I...I want to, but…"

"So, you're choosing your god over your friend?"

"Tifa-."

"No. I get it...I'm going to bed."

Cloud heard one set of footsteps walk towards the other bed. The other set walked out of the room. He didn't like the tension between his friends, but Tifa was right: nobody, not even a god, would change his mind. He felt uneasy, but he did eventually fall asleep.

***

The cosmos were broad, beautiful, and empty. Among the many stars, there was one thing that stood out: a giant chunk of rock with a glowing dark green tail. It sailed through space for what seemed like an infinitely long time.

The rock eventually entered a system with a single planet orbiting its sun. It had bodies of water, ice, and mountains, but the ground was bare and there was no signs of life. The rock headed towards that planet as if drawn to it.

It blazed through the planet's atmosphere and crashed into the largest mountain, leaving a smoking crater in its wake. A green wave washed over the planet until it engulfed it completely. It sank into the barren earth, and out from it sprang all types of plants and animals. The last ones to emerge were humans, fully grown yet naked and confused as newborns.

A white light shone from the crater and ascended for all to see. Every human and animal turned their heads to look at it. The light gradually faded until there was a silhouette of an unusual form.

Tears of awe and joy trickled out of all their eyes.

***

Cloud woke up when he felt someone shake him by the shoulders. He blinked and saw that he was standing near the doorway to the museum. He had expected Tifa or Aerith to be in front of him. Instead, it was Vincent.

_I sleepwalked? I thought I was past that phase._

"Vincent?" Cloud asked.

"You look worse." Vincent observed.

He took hold of Cloud's wrists and raised his arms to chest level. Both of his sleeves were soaked black. He groaned: that was the last clean shirt he had on him. Vincent let go of his arms and placed a hand on his forehead. It felt nice and cold against Cloud's hot, sweaty skin.

"Fever feels worse, too." Vincent murmured. "Come with me."

He led Cloud away from the museum and through both the dining area and kitchen. Through the windows, he could see the first rays of the sun lighting up the sky. They approached a door and Vincent opened it to reveal a set of stairs leading down. He switched on the light and they went down together.

There was a small room with a small amount of storage clutter. There were also two doors on opposite ends. One of them opened up. A young teen that looked a lot Shalua stepped out and stared at the two men.

"Is that the new prophet?" She asked. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"I've got him." Vincent reassured her. "Go back to bed, Shelke."

"But he-."

"Now."

She lowered her head and went back into her room. Vincent took Cloud to the other room. It was even more plain than Cloud's apartment. While there was a bed and dresser, there was no computer or TV present. Vincent had him sit on the edge of his bed.

"I'll get some things together." He told Cloud. "Remove your shirt in the meantime."

He went to the bathroom. Cloud removed his stained shirt and let it drop to the floor. Both arms were oozing. He touched his right arm. As suspected, there was no sensation. Just to make sure, he also touched his chest and forehead. Thankfully, there was still feeling in them, and they were not oozing at all.

Vincent came back with a wet rag, paper towels, and bandages. He went to work cleaning and dressing his arms. Cloud said, "This is the second time you've helped me. Are you also the nurse of this lodge?"

"No," Vincent answered without looking up, "I just know enough to get by."

When he was done and when Cloud put his stained shirt back on, he asked him, "Are you heading out tomorrow?"

"I have no choice."

"So you really want to be the prophet that badly?"

"I'm not going to be the next prophet."

"Then why are you going?"

Cloud was getting irritated now. "Because I want to live! How is that hard to understand?"

For some reason, a sad look appeared on Vincent's face. He said softly, "There's something I want to show you."

He went to his wardrobe and pulled out a red heavy coat. He handed one to Cloud and told him to hang onto it. They were about to head upstairs when Vincent froze in place. He turned around and saw Nanaki staring at both of them.

"Do you always have to be this silent?" He asked the Khatul.

Cloud now noticed that Vincent was unusually on edge. He asked, "Are you always this jumpy?"

Vincent didn't answer, but instead started ascending the stairs. Cloud followed Vincent back up, with Nanaki trailing not too far behind. Everything was silent with the exception of a loud snore coming from the foyer. Cloud deduced that it could only be Cid, most likely sleeping on the couch in front of the fireplace. They entered the museum and Vincent walked up to the portrait on the far right.

The picture was that of a woman with long silver hair and green eyes, just like the other prophets. She looked younger than the other female prophets, yet the portrait managed to portray an air of maturity. Cloud recognized her face from the news ten years ago.

Adam Lucrecia.

"What do you know about her?" Vincent asked.

Cloud was puzzled as to why he asked him that, but he answered, "She was assassinated ten years ago."

"What else?"

"That...she's a prophet and wrote Love?"

Vincent lowered his head. "That's what the world knows about her. Very few people know about the real Lucrecia."

"And you do?"

"She was a strong woman that worked for the Gast Research Institute. She did research on both Lazard and the afflicted that came after his passing, and the results were disturbing. The afflicted would have dreams trying to coerce them to come to Mt. Kadmon. Lazard, she found out, was actually a completely different person before he became a prophet. Whatever he found at Mt. Kadmon had replaced his original personality. She was determined to find a cure for the Stigma, so that people wouldn't suffer, so that they wouldn't be condemned to be prophets.

"Then, one year after Lazard passed away, she contracted the Stigma. A cure still wasn't developed, but her will to live was strong, so she decided to travel to Mt. Kadmon to see what cured the previous prophets. She took notes on herself and waited in this lodge until the last possible day. When she came back, her hair and eyes had changed, as well as her personality. She went from doubting Sephiroth's existence to devoting her entire life to Them. She said that she was going to stop being a researcher and she destroyed her notes. She went on to preach to the people in Keter, but..."

Vincent clenched his left fist tightly. Cloud now noticed that he was wearing a single ring on his ring finger. His voice carried a heavy weight to it as he finished, "Days later, she was assassinated, and the Scroll she was writing was left incomplete."

Cloud felt like he should say something. "...I'm sorry."

"...Even now, I visit her grave each morning. I was about to go when I saw you sleepwalking."

Cloud looked at the red coat in his hands and asked, "You wanted me to go with you?"

"The company helps."

He nodded and put on the coat. They went to the dining area's back door. Vincent grabbed a nearby flashlight before opening the door. The wind was slightly stronger than it was yesterday. Vincent turned on the flashlight and they both stepped out. Instead of following them, Nanaki stayed put and watched them leave.

In addition to the main path continuing up, there was a side path marked by more wood posts and rope. Vincent led Cloud down the side path. The flashlight he carried shone brightly and strongly. It only took them a few minutes to reach a small graveyard.

Some of the gravestones had writing that was too faded to read. The names Cloud could make out on the others were Ifalna, Yazoo, Loz, Kadaj, Lazard, and finally, Lucrecia. There were wilted flowers on her grave. Vincent crouched in front of her grave.

"Why visit this early in the morning?" Cloud asked.

"So no one would come bother me." Vincent answered. "It's the first thing I do each day."

"Yet you invited me to come with you."

"...You remind me of her."

"Huh?"

"Lucrecia's biggest worry was losing her original personality, just like Lazard had."

"I'd been meaning to ask you this: why aren't you referring to them by their titles?"

"After what I've told you, do you think they would want to be called that?" Vincent's voice was bitter. "Lucrecia...told me about her fears, and left me with one last request before she headed off."

"What was it?"

"That if she were to change completely...I should put her out of her misery."

Cloud felt a different type of chill run down his body.

_He's...the assassin!_

He was about to run when Vincent suddenly whipped out a gun from his coat and pointed it at him. He froze in place.

"I'm sorry," the assassin apologized, "but believe me when I say that death is better than being a prophet. It would be better if you died as Cloud than the thing you're fighting not to become."

There was a gunshot, but it wasn't from Vincent's gun. He clutched onto his shoulder and turned his head and aim towards the direction of the lodge. Cloud turned his head just as Vincent fired a near silent shot.

In the distance, Reno dropped to the ground. Tseng, Rude, and Elena rushed in with guns and fired back. Cloud ducked and covered his head. He heard two light noises from Vincent's gun before he fell and landed next to him.

_What the fuck?!_

There were several holes in his back and one in his head. Blood already started pooling below him and staining the snow crimson. Cloud scrambled to his feet and scooted away from the corpse on his hands and feet. He stopped when someone entered his view.

It was Tseng. He bent down and pulled Vincent's gun out of his grip.

"Are you hurt, Cloud?" He asked.

Cloud looked at Vincent's corpse, then at the gun in Tseng's hand. He asked, "Why do you have that? Why were you out here in the first place?"

Rude was the next one to walk up to him. His sunglasses were missing and he had a hand covering his right ear. Blood seeped between his fingers. He gritted his teeth in pain and asked, "How about a 'thank you' for saving your life?"

Cloud looked at Vincent's corpse again. While he had been in many bloody fights, he had never seen a dead person up close before. It may have been because of the stress of what just happened or the Stigma, but he turned his head away and vomited more black fluid.

Once he was done, Tseng helped him up and said, "We owe you an explanation." He looked at Rude and told him, "Send a report of our success and our...casualties."

"...We don't have a signal up here, sir."

"'Sir'?" Cloud asked. "What the hell are you guys?"

"Let's go inside first."

They started to head back. On the way, Cloud saw the fallen bodies of Reno and Elena. They each had a single bullet hole through the head. Cloud was in shock of all that had transpired in less than a minute.

Once they were inside, they went to the lobby. There, they found everyone else gathered. They immediately panicked when they saw the guns in Tseng and Rude's hands.

"Oh shit!"

"Get back, everyone!"

"Cloud!"

"What the hell is this?!"

"I don't wanna die!"

"Everyone calm down!" Tseng shouted.

He set the guns down and motioned Rude to do the same. Tseng continued, "Everyone, don't panic. There has been an incident outside, but everything is under control now."

"The hell you talkin' about?!" Cid shouted back. "Why you talkin' like you're the police or somethin'?!"

"We are not the police, but we do work with them. Our job is to find and catch criminals outside of their reach."

"So you're bounty hunters, huh?"

"The gunshots woke us all up." Rosso said. "You didn't kill anyone out there, did you?"

Tifa's eyes lit up with realization and she asked, "Where are Reno and Elena?"

"And Vincent?" Shalua joined in.

Rude lowered his head and said, "Gone."

Everyone's faces went pale. Aerith, Shalua, and Shelke looked like they were about to cry.

"V-Vincent's...dead?" Shelke sniffled.

"Reno and Elena, too?" Aerith asked.

Rude and Cloud nodded. Tseng maintained professionalism as he said, "We were looking for Adam Lucrecia's assassin. We had looked over everyone's history before, and we did suspect Vincent due to his past connection with her, but we couldn't find a reason. We tried following other afflicted individuals in the past, but they vanished before we could catch up. The last few years, the others turned themselves in to the Gast Research Institute, so we had no leads. The case went cold.

"When Reno came across Cloud, we thought this was another chance for us to catch the assassin. We brought him and his friends here and followed them to Cosmo Lodge. We each kept a constant eye on him and anyone near him. When we saw Vincent take him outside, we knew that this would have been the perfect opportunity for him to kill him. That was when we had to act. It was our original intent to incapacitate him, but with the way he took down Reno and Elena, we knew that he had to die."

"W-wait a minute." Tifa spoke up. "So the whole band thing was a lie?"

"It was our coverup."

"A-and you just treated Cloud like bait for the assassin?"

"...It was necessary for the job." Rude said.

She glared at them, as did Aerith through her tears. Reeve shook his head in disbelief and said, "This is like something out of a crime show."

Bugenhagen sounded hurt when he said, "So Adam Lucrecia's killer was Vincent this whole time?"

Shalua sobbed, "But why?!"

"I think he saw it as a mercy killing." Cloud spoke up.

"Mercy...killing? But Adam Lucrecia was one of the happiest people everyone's ever known!"

"He told me that it was her last request before she became a prophet. She would rather die than have her personality changed." He backed away from Tseng and started to walk upstairs. "That was why he was trying to kill me: he didn't want me to end up the same way."

"Where are you going, Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"I...need to be alone."

He went back to his room and shut the door. Once more, Nanaki had slipped through the closing door and was at Cloud's side. Cloud glared at him and snapped, "Stop following me!"

Nanaki only stared back. Cloud opened the door and said, "Get out. Now."

Very reluctantly, the Khatul did so. Cloud shut the door again. He went to the bathroom and leaned against the wall. He slid down to to the floor and put his head in his hands. His mind was overwhelmed with everything that he had learned and experienced.

_Vincent tried to kill me. That band was actually a group of bounty hunters. Vincent's dead. Reno and Elena are dead. Vincent felt like it was better for me to die. I...why…?_

_"Cloud."_

"Shut up!" He shouted. "You...You changed Lucrecia into something she never wanted to be! It was Your fault that she turned out that way! It's Your fault that Vincent felt that he had to kill her, that he had to kill me! It's Your fault that they're dead now!"

Cloud was seething with anger now. He had never been this angry before, not even with the guys he fought against in the past. He snarled, "You changed her, and now You want to do the same with me? Well, guess what: fuck you! I will never be Your prophet!"

_"Then you will let My mark kill you?"_

"No. I've come all this way just so I can live." He got to his feet. "I'm going to live, not as Your prophet, but as myself! I'm. Going. To. Live!"

For the first time, he heard the voice laugh. It was a mocking laugh that only served to irritate him further. They seemed delighted as They asked, _"Is that what you believe? Very well. Come to me, Cloud."_

He went back to his room and threw Vincent's coat off to the side, instead opting to wear his own winter wear. He left and started to make his way to the dining area. Everyone was there either drinking tea, coffee, or hot cocoa. There was murmuring from most of the guests. Cloud knew that it would take time for everyone to recover from what had just happened. Tseng, Rude, Azul, and Weiss were the only ones not there.

"I'm going now." He announced.

Everyone looked at him. Yuffie jumped out of her seat and said, "Hey, wait! Can you do something for me?!"

Cloud tried to walk past her, but she moved to block him. She removed her camera from around her neck and shoved it into Cloud's hands. She told him, "I just need you to take a good picture of the Bahamut. It shouldn't attack you, you know, cause of the Stigma, so you should be able to get a great closeup!"

"Not inte-."

"I'll pay you twenty thousand gil if you do it!"

Yuffie pulled out a wad of cash from her pocket and fanned out the bills. Everyone stared at that amount of money in her hand. Rosso spoke up, "How do you have that much money?"

"Yes," Nero agreed, "I don't think a petty photographer would carry that much on their person."

"Petty?!" Yuffie put her hands to her hips. "I'll have you know that I'm the leading photographer for Assiah Geographic, Yuffie Kisaragi! Everyone would go crazy if they see a good quality photo of the Bahamut!"

"Never heard of you, kid." Cid shrugged.

"That's because you inconsiderate jerks never bother to look at the photo credits!" She focused her attention on Cloud again. "So, we got a deal?"

_That's more than enough to return home with. I won't have to resort to using mom's money._

He gripped the camera and said, "Alright. I'll get that photo for you."

"Wait," Aerith said, "don't you at least want to eat first?"

"Not hungry, and I'm not waiting any longer."

Aerith stood, walked up to Cloud, and pulled him into a hug. She said softly, "Come back safely."

Once she pulled away, Tifa also went up to him and hugged him. She firmly said, "Don't give up, Cloud."

He nodded and Tifa let him go. Everyone gave brief encouragements and goodbyes as he walked out into the cold. It was slightly brighter outside, just enough to get by without a flashlight.

He saw the four missing guests crouched by the bodies of Reno and Elena. He saw that Rude had heavy gauze taped over his bleeding ear. Cloud supposed it was the best first aid they could do here. Rude and the others were busy wrapping the bodies in bedsheets. Tseng lifted his head and noticed Cloud. He asked, "Leaving already?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Sorry about your loss."

"We've taken down many criminals before, but this one had the skill to take down Reno and Elena in one well aimed hit. We didn't find any info about his skills when we did his background check. Just who was he?"

"Dunno. What about your band cover up?"

"We have no choice but to abandon it. We'll come up with a story for Reno and Elena's deaths. After that...we'll have to see."

Azul shook his head. "It's not right. All these deaths aren't right."

"No, they aren't." Weiss agreed. "These bodies...to think they were once people. It's fascinating, but also scary."

Nobody responded to that comment. They finished wrapping up the bodies. Rude and Azul each carried one. Tseng said to the two film crew members, "Thank you for helping us out."

"We knew that you could use some help." Weiss looked at Cloud. "I don't know if Mr. Tuesti told you, but we're actually heading back down soon. You won't see us when you return."

"Didn't know that." Cloud admitted.

"We were planning on leaving later, but, well...all that happened. I'm sure we'll be back at some point to interview you. Look after yourself until then, 'Adam Cloud'."

Cloud bristled, but said nothing. The others started to walk around the lodge, most likely to keep the bodies out of everyone else's view. He looked in the direction of the main path and started walking.

***

The last leg of the journey was grueling. The cold and wind were starting to take a toll on Cloud's body. In addition to thinking of warm things, he also thought about his renewed drive to defy Sephiroth.

His stomach growled. Cloud was now mentally beating himself up for not staying to eat breakfast. He stopped and checked his backpack for any leftover snacks. All that was left was a bar of chocolate.

_Better than nothing._

He ate it as he continued on. The snow grew deeper as he went higher until it eventually reached his knees. As he looked at how far he had left to go, he was thankful that Mt. Kadmon was only the largest mountain and not the tallest. He looked back and could faintly see Cosmo Lodge. He marvelled how much he had traveled so far before moving again.

Cloud soon came across a steel fence in the middle of the path. A "Danger! Keep Out!" sign was posted at the top of the center pole. He knew that he didn't have much further to go. He climbed over the fence, but his foot slipped and he fell face first into the snow.

He pushed himself up and brushed the snow off his face and clothes. He could feel his strength waning. Part of him wished he could just collapse, but he still refused to give up. His willpower alone helped him to push on.

Finally, he was up close to the crater wall. In that wall, he could see a giant hole. He started to approach it when a low grumble came from within the cave.

A black dragon's head poked out. It crawled out of the cave, soon revealing its legs, wings, and tail. It stood on its hind legs and stretched its wings. It looked down at Cloud.

_Bahamut._

Cloud now remembered Yuffie's request and held up the camera. He pressed the shutter button and got a photo. Just as he lowered the camera, the Bahamut dropped back to all fours. Cloud felt the urge to run, but he knew that it wouldn't attack any afflicted...at least he hoped.

The Bahamut walked over to Cloud until his head was a few feet away from him. It sniffed him, then let out two puffs of air as it exhaled. It slowly retreated into the cave until its head was left outside.

Cloud's heart was racing. He had never been that close to a dangerous beast before, let alone the Bahamut. Since it didn't kill him right then and there, he assumed it would be okay to go in. He cautiously approached the cave, making sure to stay out of the dragon's way. It stared at him, but did nothing else.

It was dark inside. Cloud had no idea what to find or expect. He felt along the walls and continued inward. He noticed that the path was gradually sloping down. He felt like he would be underneath the crater at this rate. Gradually, he could see a green light close to the bottom. The path leveled out and he arrived at the source of the light.

There was a large cavern filled with green light and all kinds of plants. There were wolves and rabbits present, as well as litters of cubs and kits. Despite being natural enemies, they had no qualms being around each other. It was an unnatural harmony.

At the center of the cavern was a large pool of dark green water, its glow lighting up the entire area. Cloud also noticed that it was unusually warm. He approached the pool and sat down in front of it. He removed the camera and backpack and set them aside. He stared down into the water and found that he couldn't see the bottom.

_It's...a Life Spring? I thought they didn't get bigger than puddles. Is this the cure, then?_

Cloud removed his gloves, coat, and stained shirt. He dipped his hand into the water and found it to be pleasantly warm. He scooped some up and poured it on his left arm.

Black ooze bubbled out of his rash. It didn't hurt, but it did cause Cloud to panic and wipe his arm. He stared at his arm when he saw that there was no rash underneath the ooze. He poked a finger on where the rash used to be and found that he had feeling in it again.

 _It_ is _the cure! I've got to tell everyone when I get back. Wish there was a signal so I could just text it to them, though._

Cloud removed the rest of his clothes so he could properly wash every rash. He first thought about pouring handfuls of water on each one, but then an idea popped into his head. He slid his feet into the water, then his legs, then the rest of his body.

The warmth of the water immediately relaxed him. He looked at his body and saw the ooze bleed out from his rashes, leaving healthy, bare skin behind. He floated on his back and dipped his head back so that the water would cover the rash on his forehead. He suddenly stiffened when he realized something.

_This is almost exactly like the first few dreams I've had._

As soon as he thought that, an invisible force pulled him underwater. He thrashed and fought to swim back up, but he continued to sink further down. Bubbles escaped his mouth as he panicked.

_Shit! This was what They wanted! Why did I even think about swimming?!_

_"Because I gave you that idea; all you needed was one last push. Now, it's time we meet."_

_No! No!_

A few small bubbles floated out of his open mouth as Cloud blacked out.


	3. Part 3:  Sephiroth

Cloud opened his eyes and found himself floating in a dark green expanse. He knew he was still underwater, yet for some reason, he could breathe just fine. He tried to see if he could talk.

"What is this?"

_"You humans know this as the Lifestream."_

The voice echoed all around him.

"The Lifestream?"

_"Yes. It is here where we can finally meet."_

A black fog suddenly appeared in front of Cloud. It slowly cleared away, revealing a form that wasn't human. It had the upper form of a human male with long silver hair and green eyes. There were two golden rings behind it that glowed like the sun. Its left arm was human, but its right was replaced with a leathery black wing. The lower half was obscured by a white cloud and, below that, were six white feathered wings.

It was repulsive, yet divine.

It was the thing that Cloud saw in that one dream.

It was…

"Sephiroth."

The thing did not move its lips to speak, yet the voice continued to echo everywhere.

_"What you see before you is Cloud Strife's last memory of Me."_

"Cloud? Why are you referring to me like that?"

_"Because you are not the same Cloud Strife that tried to fight against Me thousands of years ago."_

"You're not making any sense!"

_"Did you think those dreams I showed you meant nothing? Aside from the dreams of you in the Life Spring, all that I have shown you were the memories of your past lives."_

"Past lives? I don't have any past lives!"

_"All life forms come from the Lifestream when they are born, and they return when they die. When they die and become one with the Lifestream once again, all their memories are collected. When those particular life energies emerge once more, they are reborn as a new life form and the cycle starts again."_

_So it's reincarnation._

_"Yes, and that Lifestream...is Me. I have everyone's memories from all the lives they have lived. I choose when these life energies can be reborn and what form they would take. When they die, they and their memories become one with Me once again."_

"'When they die?' Then I'm dead? You drowned me so that I would have no choice but to become one with You?"

_"I do not kill My chosen; I only bring them to the center of the Lifestream, to where I reside. We are getting off topic, however. You were wondering the whole time during your journey why I chose you."_

_At least They get to the point._

Cloud glared at the thing and snarled, "You owe me one hell of an explanation. I never believed in You or the Scrolls, so why choose me?"

 _"It was_ because _you didn't believe that I chose you. Turning a nonbeliever into My prophet would convince more people to worship Me. Why I chose you, specifically, however, is an entirely different story. To make things easier for you to understand, I will give you back all of your memories."_

A high pitched ringing noise filled Cloud's head. He automatically covered his ears in a vain attempt to shut out the noise. Thoughts, ideas, personalities, and memories flooded his mind.

He was Cloud Strife, a man who thought himself to be a SOLDIER 1st Class whose goal was to defeat Sephiroth.

He was Anan, the young man who was ostracised by everyone in his village, only for Sephiroth to choose him as Their lover.

He was a nameless malboro that lived only to eat, sleep, and reproduce like any other beast.

He was #391, one of many chocobos bred to be slaughtered so that people could have their meat.

He was Claudia Cast, a poor woman who had no choice but to prostitute herself just to earn enough money to eat.

He was Kumori Kurushimi, a Tsukihon farmer with a wife and two children that were unnecessarily slaughtered at the start of the Leviathan War.

He was Cloud Strife, a man in college that wanted to join the army so he could be a hero like his father.

The ringing stopped, but Cloud, Anan, Kumori, whoever he was, was left confused.

"Wh-what did you do to me?" He asked. "Which one am I? Who...am I? Who...are-"

He looked at the thing again and recognized it for what it was this time.

"Sephiroth! What's going on here?! What did you do to my friends?! What did you do to Gaia?!"

_"You know what happened, Cloud."_

Cloud found himself and his friends facing off against the creature Sephiroth had morphed himself into. They all rushed in. The thing smiled and ascended beyond their reach.

Sephiroth's attacks were a blur. Blood sprayed everywhere and bodies dropped to the ground. He made every strike count. He held nothing back.

They never stood a chance.

_"I thought about toying with you before finishing you off, to see the despair in your eyes before your deaths. Mother thought otherwise. She told Me to show no mercy."_

Cloud, though he was bleeding heavily, still had the strength to lift his head up. He asked weakly, "You killed us? Then Gaia...then Meteor…!"

He was now in space. Meteor was closing in on the planet he called home. It burned through the atmosphere and crashed, destroying a large chunk of the planet. The Lifestream emerged and moved to cover the missing piece.

Suddenly, it stilled. It turned from bright green to dark. It overflowed from the center of the planet and gathered at the crater. The planet fractured from within and broke apart into large pieces. The Lifestream latched onto one of the pieces and launched itself into space.

Cloud could not believe what he was seeing.

"We...failed…"

_"I had fulfilled My plan to become a god. When I became one with the Lifestream, Mother's cells infected everything in it. All life was under My control, but I decided that I would start fresh at a new planet. The journey was long, and not every system I came across had a planet that could support life."_

The Lifestream and the rock it resided in looked like a less menacing version of Meteor. It passed by many stars, planets, and suns. It eventually found a system with one sun and one barren planet. It moved towards the planet as if drawn to it.

_"Then I found Assiah. It had all the conditions necessary to support life, so I made it My new home."_

It crashed into the largest mountain, leaving a smoking crater behind. The Lifestream flooded out of the debris, covered the planet, and sank into the earth. All sorts of life sprang up, turning the barren world into a paradise.

_"I removed the free will of the first humans. They devoted their entire lives to Me. Whatever I said, they listened. Whatever order I gave them, they obeyed. I had everything I wanted."_

"What changed?" Cloud asked.

_"I will tell you a little secret: nothing kills a god like boredom."_

"You were...bored?"

_"I had dominion over all life, yet it became pointless after a few hundred years. Everything always turned out how I wanted it to be. Nothing unpredictable ever happened. You can see how I eventually became bored. I decided to give the humans some of their free will back."_

Anan was the one person in his village that nobody wanted around. He was never good at hunting or fighting, and he was hated for it. He was supposed to be strong and skilled like a man, but he was more like a woman in his nature, and everyone hated him for it. They had no use for a man that couldn't serve as one for the village.

On that night, he overheard the village chief talking about presenting him to Sephiroth as a sacrifice. As much as he was devoted to his god, he was afraid of dying, so he ran away. He ran blindly with no destination in mind.

He tripped over a rock and found himself tumbling down a rocky ledge. He was beaten and in pain by the time he reached the bottom. He made no attempt to get up. Instead, he cried. He was weak. Nobody wanted him-no, they wanted him as a sacrifice. That was all he was good for, and even then-.

A sudden light appeared in the darkness. Someone picked him up like he weighed nothing. Anan found himself staring at a naked human with the upper half of a female and the lower half of a male. They had long, silver hair and green eyes with thin slitted pupils. Their skin literally glowed like sunlight. They leaned forward and kissed his forehead. With that kiss, all the pain, both physical and emotional, went away.

_"This was your first incarnation on Assiah. Your life was like Cloud Strife's childhood, but much worse. I also saw My old, mortal self in you. This was around the time that I started to get bored of human sacrifices in My name, as interesting as it was."_

Anan reached his hand to touch the god's face. He said, "You felt sorry for me and asked me to be Your lover, so that You wouldn't be lonely anymore."

_"Yes, I was lonely. This may sound strange, but in a way, I missed Cloud Strife. I hated him for defeating Me in that one fight and for trying to stop My ascent to godhood, yet I could not deny My own obsession with him. To have you, his first reincarnation, all to Myself was as enjoyable as I imagined it to be."_

Sephiroth took Anan to a far away place all to themselves. They indulged in each other's desires and bodies almost every day. The young man gave all of himself to the god, and They gave him Their love in return.

They cupped his head in Their hands and kissed him as They thrusted inside him.

_"My mortal self never experienced love. I knew how love worked from the memories in the Lifestream, yet I had never experienced it firsthand. You loved Me, but only because I implanted that desire in you humans. Even then, it was wonderful. Anan, I will admit, was My favorite incarnation of you._

_"However, things became boring again. I decided that in addition to giving humans all of their free will back, I would also conduct an experiment on faith. I no longer made physical appearances and decided to spread the belief of My existence through prophets. Would others believe in Me blindly, or would they try to look for actual evidence of My existence? How far would they take their belief in Me?"_

Anan cried out as he and the god above them found their simultaneous release. His eyes fluttered as his body bathed in the afterglow. He took a moment for his breathing to calm down before he asked, "Why would humans just blindly believe in You?"

_"For many reasons. There are those that don't want to think and are just satisfied with the easiest answer. Many want to believe that there is a divine being that can take care of everything for them so they won't assume responsibility for themselves. Children believe without questioning because that was how they were raised. All of that came to be after I chose my first prophet."_

The malboro woke up from its slumber. It was hungry, and it was time to hunt. It used its tentacles to feel its way through the darkness of the cave that it called home. It soon found light and it made its way out.

It explored until it found a human hunter lost in the woods. It crept up on its unwary prey and breathed its bad breath on him. He coughed and turned around to shoot it, but the nauseous gases had already entered his lungs and he collapsed. He gasped and writhed as he experienced both confusion and agony.

The malboro opened its jaws and ate the man in one bite.

_"I decided not to limit your incarnations to humans. As a beast, you didn't have the same sentience humans did. There were many times where you were reincarnated as trees and other plants, but there are no memories from those times, of course."_

The chocobo was stuck on a conveyor belt with barred walls to keep it trapped. It warked in fear with the rest of its flock in line. It had no idea where it was or how it got there.

The humans had herded them onto a large truck earlier that day. It, along with the other chocobos, tried pecking and kicking the door out of panic, but they couldn't get out. They next thing they knew, they were herded onto a narrow chute that took them straight to where they were now.

They were about to pass a buzzing electric current. The chocobo didn't know what it was, but it sounded awful and it wanted to get away. It cried louder, further agitating the others.

Its head soon passed through the current, the deadly shocks electrocuting its brain.

_"Though you didn't have the awareness level of a human, you still had basic emotions: happiness, sadness, jealousy, fear."_

Claudia should have known better than to take up that money making offer. After losing her job and unable to acquire a new one, she was desperate for money. It turned out to be a scheme and the next thing she knew, she was in heavy debt.

She went to her mother for help, but she refused, saying that she had to pay for making such a stupid decision. She did find a job working as a waitress, but the pay wasn't high enough. One frequent customer handed her a card, saying that she could make more money that way. She knew what she was getting into, but she was about to lose her house, and she felt that she had no other choice.

It was a mistake.

Claudia felt sick as her two clients took her from both ends. She started to curse herself, but remembered that she chose this path. She hated that she got pleasure from this, despite how horribly she was treated at times.

Once both men pulled out of her, she coughed out traces of the nasty semen in her mouth. She didn't know if these men were clean, but they each offered two thousand additional gil if they took her without condoms. Besides, it wasn't like they could get her pregnant when she already had an accidental child growing inside her.

They left her with a large wad of cash. She could eat for tonight, but she had to hand over the rest of her money to her pimp later. She wanted to believe that she would have a normal life again one day. Now, though, she was repulsed at what she had to do just to get that money.

Claudia looked up at the ceiling and shouted, "Did You want me to suffer like this?! Do You take some sort of twisted pleasure seeing me like this?!"

_"I do, actually. Since I gave humans complete control of their own lives, they have done so many things that continue to surprise Me. You can blame Me all you want for their behavior, but I chose to not dictate what they think or do unless I have a reason to. All of these misfortunes that have happened in your past lives on Assiah are not caused by Me, but by humans."_

All Kumori ever wanted was a happy, peaceful life with his family. He married a pretty girl, took over his father's plot of land to grow crops on, and had two beautiful children. Every morning, he would give thanks to the dragons that made this world and proceed to tending the land.

Then the foreigners came, demanding things they couldn't understand, and a war broke out. Kumori never thought they would come this far out in the country, but they came anyways. They broke in at midnight and held his family captive.

Kumori was kicked in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. The foreign soldiers kept shouting at him, but he couldn't understand what they wanted. He felt completely helpless as they killed his family in front of his eyes. He didn't know what they wanted from him, or why they were killing his family when they were no threat to them at all.

"Why is this happening?!" He screamed.

_"Since they are a part of Me, I know what goes through their minds. Many Sephiran soldiers actually believed they were doing Tsukihon a favor by forcibly converting them. Some, however, used the war as an excuse to kill, just because they are different from them."_

"Then why didn't You do anything?! Did You really want more believers that badly?!"

One soldier raised his sword with both hands, the blade pointed straight down for the final kill. Kumori squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the moment he could be with his wife and kids again. The blade pierced his chest. There was pain, then weakness, and finally, darkness.

_"It's all part of My experiment on faith. Understandably, most people would lose faith at this point; the ones who believed in the Dragons of Creation certainly did. I made the topics of love and worship a priority in the Scrolls to see if the humans would follow them. They did, though ironically, even though the Scrolls were peaceful in nature, humans still chose to hate."_

Cloud was once again in the dark green expanse, except he was alone this time. He felt dizzy from everything that he had just experienced. It took him a minute to sort through everything and remember who he was right now.

_"This brings the topic back to you. I had told you that I had missed the original Cloud. It took time and manipulation with your family's genetics, as well as subtlety using My influence to mold your personality, but I've managed to create a near perfect copy of him."_

Cloud felt the blood drain from his face. He croaked, "You...made me like him? Why? What's the point?"

_"I had missed the boy who had dared to fight Me. I missed his spirit and determination, and I missed bringing him to despair. While I enjoyed having his body and love in the form of Anan, I missed what made Cloud who he was. I wanted to break him again, and what better way than to have him serve Me, just like he did back on Gaia."_

Realization hit Cloud like a tsunami.

"You...You made me to be Your prophet before I was even born!"

_"Yes. Your genetic makeup, your personality, even some of your choices, were all My doing, all for this moment."_

"...And my choice to come here?"

They answered with a chuckle. Cloud felt sick, yet he refused to show his uneasiness in front of the god. Instead, he asked, "Did...did You do that to all the prophets?"

_"I made their forms and the molds for their personalities based on certain individuals from Gaia. Most of them didn't need My encouraging when it came time for them to be prophets; they were all too happy to serve under Me. The few that refused Me once they came here required more persuasion. I could have easily taken away their free wills, but I find satisfaction in bending and breaking them without taking the easiest option."_

Cloud thought back to Vincent's story of Lucrecia and how she had changed completely. He remembered the gun pointed at him and Vincent's last words. He knew it was Sephiroth's fault, but he had never imagined just what They did to her, and the truth was too horrible to bear.

"You tortured them." Cloud shouted at the top of his lungs, "YOU TORTURED THEM! What kind of god does that to the very people They chose to be Their prophets?! Then You make them write lies in the Scrolls, just because everyone won't worship You if You told them what You really are! You say You preach love, yet You just admitted You enjoyed the suffering of others! You're not even showing Yourself to me, You coward! You're just doing this all for Your sick enjoyment! You...you sick fuck! You're not a god, You're a monster!"

There was silence.

"Well?! Say something!"

The voice chuckled, then laughed. A bright white light appeared and shined brilliantly. Cloud had to cover his eyes with his hands. Once the laughter died down, he lowered his hands.

Hovering before him was the nude being he saw in Anan's memories. What was different about Them was that They had three pairs of feathered wings. From top to bottom, they were white, gray, and black. The god gave a cruel smile.

"Here I am." They said. "What will you do now, Cloud? Fight Me? Run away? Shout at Me some more? All options are fruitless in the end."

Cloud gritted his teeth. The god had a good point, but he wasn't going to stop defying Them anytime soon. He said, "You destroyed Nibelheim, You killed Aerith, You manipulated me into giving You the Black Materia, and You destroyed Gaia! I will never, _ever_ , be Your prophet, no matter what You do to me!"

Their smile widened. " _There's_ the Cloud I know, defying Me to the very end. However, you still seem to be forgetting something."

The high pitched ringing returned and Cloud's head started to hurt. He blurted out, "All life is one with Me, and Mother's cells give Me extra control over them. Every living thing is My puppet, and you are no exception."

He covered his mouth with both hands. Those words had invaded his mind and he had no choice but to vocalize them. As soon as the thought that, he felt something move in his skull. The pain intensified and he fought hard not to scream.

_Shit! Why did-I just need to stop fighting. There is-No no no no get out of my head!_

Cloud found himself trapped in a glass tube filled with mako. Outside, several scientists observed him and took notes on their clipboards. His body and mind were restless. There was only one thing he wanted, that he needed.

_Sephiroth. Where are you? I need-to fight this! You're just trying to trick me again! I am-a test subject created using Sephiroth's cells. I am his to whatever he wants me to do. My life is-my own! You can't do this to me!_

He raised the Buster Sword above Aerith's head. She was lost in prayer, oblivious to what was about to happen to her. His friends shouted at him to stop, that it was Sephiroth controlling him.

He brought the blade down, cleaving the girl in half. Blood, torn tissue, and exposed bones and organs littered the floor. He could feel his master's approval at what he had done.

 _No! No no no no no I did_ not _kill Aerith! Sephiroth was the one-who told me to eliminate her. He told me that I was a good puppet. Sephiroth, I-hate you! You're trying to break me by changing my memories of what really happened, aren't you?!_

Cloud met his friends at the Northern Crater after they had left him behind. They knew that he could no longer be trusted. Tifa clutched onto the Black Materia that she had just retrieved.

"Get out of our way, Cloud." Barret threatened.

He drew his sword. He needed to bring the Black Materia to Sephiroth, and no one was going to stop him. Everyone tensed up.

"Cloud, don't do this." Tifa pleaded. "You have to fight Sephiroth!"

He said nothing and charged at them. He was outnumbered, but he could feel Sephiroth guiding his movements. He moved and dodged masterfully, and all of his attacks cut through flesh. When he was done, there was nothing but a mess of blood and limbs left.

_Stop! Stop showing me-these memories are the truth of what happened back then. Those fools were-my friends!_

Cloud approached Sephiroth, whose body was only half-formed, inside the crystal. He held out the Black Materia and pressed it to the crystal. It shimmered and his arm slid in like it was water. The Black Materia hovered out of his hand and stopped above Sephiroth.

The ground shook and cracks appeared. Chunks of the ground broke and fell, revealing a river of green underneath. Cloud, however, didn't seem to pay it much mind.

Sephiroth's eyes opened. He grabbed Cloud's arm and pulled him into the crystal until their bodies were flushed against one another. He knew that his master was pleased with what he had done. Serving him was his life's only purpose, and he had succeeded beyond expectations.

_Sephiroth, I have done what you wanted. My god, my master, my-enemy! He did all those horrible things, not me! This isn't real! None of these things-are illusions. Whatever Sephiroth tells me, I will believe._

Cloud found himself trapped in a glass tube filled with mako.

_Stop it, Sephiroth!_

There was only one thing he wanted, that he needed.

_Get out of-my mind, my body, my soul, all are yours._

He brought the blade down, cleaving the girl in half. Blood, torn tissue, and exposed bones and organs littered the floor.

_I would burn the world, kill in your name, and destroy all that dare to defy you._

When he was done, there was nothing but a mess of blood and limbs left.

_Kill me, save me, hurt me, fuck me, do whatever you want with me._

He grabbed Cloud's arm and pulled him into the crystal until their bodies were flushed against one another.

_Just please, let me stay with-you monster! You demon!_

Cloud stood in front of his mother, who was sitting down and crying. They had just received the news that his father had died on the field of battle while escorting a family to safety. Even though he was sixteen and he told himself that real men didn't cry, he still let the tears fall. He was upset that his father died, of course, but he was also inspired by his bravery. Because of him, a family was saved from death.

"One day," he said, "I'm going to be a hero. I'll save lives, just like dad did. I'll make him proud."

His mother snapped her head up and gripped his shoulders tightly.

"No!" She nearly screamed. "You will never join the army! I don't want to see you die out there! You're my only family left, and I am not going to lose you!"

She violently shook him as she spoke those words. Cloud knew how she felt, but he said, "But I can help! Dad helped people, so why can't I?!"

"Help? You want to help? If you want to help so badly, then just become the next prophet already!"

"...Huh?"

_This wasn't how it happened!_

His mother stopped shaking him and stared into his eyes. He could see an unnerving madness in her eyes.

"Yes, become the next prophet. You can help by writing the next Scroll and making more people believe in Sephiroth. You can make everyone happy that way, Cloud. It's a much better alternative than throwing your life away."

Cloud hugged his mother and reassured her, "Okay, I will, so don't cry anymore, mom."

_No! I would never say-that was why I was created, after all: to serve-no one! Get out of my head! Stop messing with my memories!_

"It's not just my money, you know; you got yours, too." Aerith put away her PHS. She beamed, "This is actually pretty exciting. I never thought I would actually get to travel together with you for this occasion. I wonder what kind of Scroll you will write once you become the next prophet? 'Adam Cloud', I never thought I would say those words."

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" Cloud asked. "Mom always told me that I would be the next prophet, and I believed her. To actually be chosen by Sephiroth...this is a dream come true."

_Stop it!_

Elfe didn't say anything for a moment, instead taking another puff. Once she exhaled the smoke, she said, "I used to be Sephiran. My father and I really believed in Sephiroth and the Scrolls, then…" She let out a heavy sigh. "He got into a fatal accident. I kept praying to Sephiroth to save him, but…" She flicked the cigarette into the ocean. "Why would a god like Sephiroth let someone who loved Them so much die? I realized that there was only one reason."

"You believe there is no god." Cloud answered for her.

"...Yes."

He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Sephiroth does exist, and I'm sure your father is happy to be by Their side. I believe that what you went through was a test of faith. You may have failed that test, but you can always believe again. It doesn't have to be now, but I know that both Sephiroth and your father would be very happy when you do believe again."

Elfe made a face. "You're already acting like a prophet, huh?"

"That is what Sephiroth wants me to be, after all."

_No no no no no nonononono! I will-do my best for Sephiroth._

"Do you think we can schedule for an interview once you come back?" Reeve asked.

Cloud smiled as he petted Nanaki, who was napping comfortably in his lap. He answered, "You can interview me whenever I finish writing the next Scroll. I won't reveal it until after Reunion, though, so it will be some time. Are you willing to wait until then?"

"Of course. I will start working on pitches for the trailer when we return."

_Sephiroth, I am almost there. We will have our Reunion, and everyone-is expecting me to come back, not as a prophet, but as-!_

"Cloud."

Cloud was now surrounded by darkness. Too many memories were in his head, and he didn't know which ones were real. He could feel his mind being broken into pieces, only for something else to replace them with different ones.

He was losing himself, and he was terrified.

_ I...I… _

"Cloud."

Another Cloud appeared in front of him. This Cloud had spikey silver hair and green eyes with thin slitted pupils. He also wore a black robe that other prophets had worn in the past. He reached his hands out to his other self.

_ N-no...stay back… _

The Other cupped his face in his hands.

"It's okay to be afraid." He said soothingly. "Remember that when this is all over, you will be filled with Sephiroth's love."

_ Lies… _

Cracks appeared on Cloud's skin. Someone else materialized in his peripheral vision. He was able to turn his head just enough to see who it was: Aerith.

"We need our prophet." She said. "We need to hear Sephiroth's words through you."

Tifa appeared next.

"Don't you see this is what you were meant to be?" She asked.

_ S-Stop… _

The cracks started creeping down the rest of his body. Everyone that he had met on his journey appeared around him in a circle. The silence became filled with their voices speaking all at once.

"Stop fighting."

"You cannot defy Sephiroth."

"It is Sephiroth's will."

"You were made for this purpose."

"You gotta follow Sephiroth."

"Become our prophet."

"Guide us."

"Yes, guide us, Adam Cloud."

"Just accept it."

_ Stop it... _

"Don't you see?" The Other asked. "This is what everyone wants from you."

The cracks spread even further. Tears welled up from Cloud's eyes and dripped down his face. The Other gave a comforting smile and wiped the tears away. Everyone blurred into a mess of colors and words.

_ProphetAdamCloudlove STOPIThateblissknowledgeoneSephirothgodPLEASElifedespairpainJenovacreationMotherwillpurposeMeteorpuppetCloudNONONONOmasterboredomfaithsufferingAnanITHURTSmonsterslaughteranimalchildClaudiadeathbloodfamilyKumoriGETOUTOFMYMINDhopedeterminationlonelinessfutilityobediencedoyounotseethatyouareMineMyprophetMypuppetMyCloudCloudCloudCloudCloudCloudCloudCloudCloudAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_

He shattered into billions of dust sized pieces.

…

…

…

Cloud hung limp in the Lifestream, the light in his eyes gone. He felt nothing. He thought nothing. He was completely empty. Sephiroth looked pleased with what They had done to him. They spoke, "Wake up, Cloud."

He lifted his head up. The god extended Their arms in an open invitation and said, "Let us have our Reunion. Come."

Cloud hovered towards Sephiroth until he was inches away from Them. They caressed his face and the light returned in his eyes. They placed Their other hand on his lower back and pulled him close until there was no space between their bodies. Feeling came back to Cloud and he wrapped his arms around Them. Sephiroth responded to this action by returning the hug and folding Their wings around him, encasing him in a cocoon of soft feathers. He felt love, approval, and longing, and he never wanted to let go of those feelings.

Cloud's flesh sank into the god's body, fusing with it. First it was his pelvis, then his legs, then his abdomen. He regained his ability to think. He lifted his head so he could look at Sephiroth.

_Sephiroth. Cloud._

Trapped in Their embrace, he could feel the exchange of thoughts and emotions flowing between them. He knew that he would never be alone again. Wherever he would go, Sephiroth would always be inside him, guiding him and telling him what to say to the people of Assiah. His chest and arms were the next things to fuse into Them. The boundaries of what defined him and the god blurred. Their bodies, and everything that went on inside them, became tangled and inseparable. He rested his head against Their breasts and closed his eyes. This was bliss.

_My god. My prophet. My master. My puppet. Our Reunion. We feel...We are…_

_One._

They stayed like that for what they wished would be eternity.

***

-Two months later-

Tifa couldn't believe what she had heard from Aerith.

"Cloud is alive?!" She exclaimed over the phone.

"Yes!" Aerith sounded excited. "The news said that Bugenhagen reported Cloud's return from Mt. Kadmon!"

"How could he have survived up there for two months?!"

"Sephiroth looked after him until it was time for Reunion. He'll show up at Bracha Springs that night. We should all go see him!"

Tifa thought back to everything that had happened the past two months.

Cloud had never returned since he had left for Mt. Kadmon. Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie waited for days for his return. Eventually, Yuffie got fed up and decided that she would go photograph the Bahamut herself, once she bought a new camera, and left. She looked through the recent issues of Assiah Geographic for any photos of the Bahamut, but never found any. She also never found Yuffie's name listed in the photo credits.

Bugenhagen suggested that Cloud would come back in time for Reunion, since that had been the case for Adam Ifalna. Tifa wanted to hope, but logically, there was no way he could survive up there on his own for two months. Aerith, on the other hand, was positive of his return. Since they couldn't afford to wait any longer, they left and made their journey back home.

Tseng reported Reno and Elena as missing. Police were still looking for them, but she knew they would never be found. She knew that Reno and the Turks would disband at some point in the future.

Because she had missed a little over two weeks worth of class, Aerith had no choice but to drop out this semester. Unfortunately, she no longer had the money to keep attending. Tifa still couldn't believe that she would sacrifice college just to help Cloud out, but she said that she had no regrets.

Cloud's mother called the college to let them know what happened to Cloud to excuse his long absence. In addition to giving him an automatic failure, they lamented that they would miss him, as if being a prophet automatically disqualified him from being in college. His Religious Studies professor in particular expressed his wish to see him at Reunion.

_To think that all these things happened in such a short amount of time._

Tifa just had to see Cloud again. She had the day off from work because of Reunion, but she called work to have two more days off. Her boss was hesitant was first, she she had already taken two weeks off, but he eventually relented.

With that done, she went online and ordered plane tickets. It took her some time, but she found a seat. Everywhere else was booked completely.

_Everyone must really want to see Cloud, huh. Cloud...did you really become the next prophet?_

***

Tifa arrived at Keter a few days later. The city was more crowded and the snow was heavier than it was two months ago. She went to her hotel room first and settled in. She pulled out her phone for more info on the Bracha Springs and the Reunion that took place there.

She blushed when she found out that men and women bathed and prayed in the same space. Apparently, this was the only time nudity among both sexes wasn't an issue among Sephirans. Because of this, most non-Sephirans opt out on visiting the springs during this time. However, Cloud was going to be there tonight.

_Come on, Tifa, don't let this bother you. You're doing this so you can see him again._

Tifa went out to have an early dinner. She spotted a Mukki's Diner and decided to go cheap. There were many parents with their children seated at the booths. Everybody was either eating burgers, salads, or a number of different fried meat and vegetables.

"Tifa?"

She turned her head to the direction of the voice. She was surprised to see Shalua and Shelke sitting down at the nearest booth with milkshakes in front of them. She said, "Shalua, Shelke, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Neither did we." Shalua admitted. "We decided to go for milkshakes before the big event."

"I'm finally old enough to experience Reunion at Bracha Springs." Shelke said excitedly. "I can't wait to see Adam Cloud."

"Yeah, I can't wait either."

A server stopped by and Tifa ordered a salad. They spent this time to catch up. They were still mourning over Vincent, even though he was Adam Lucrecia's assassin. It would take more time before they would be ready to move on. Aside from that, Shalua was still working hard and Shelke has been doing good on her homeschooling.

Cosmo Lodge was temporarily closed, since that was where Cloud was now. According to Bugenhagen, Cloud didn't want anyone to see him (with the exception of himself) before he made his first appearance to the public, so they were shooed out. They spent time browsing stores until they decided to have milkshakes.

_He wants to make this really dramatic, huh? Sounds more like a celebrity than a prophet._

"Hey, would you like to go together?" Shalua asked.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." Tifa nodded. "I was kinda nervous going on my own, but I think I'll be fine if I'm with you two."

When they were done eating, they saw that sunset was approaching. Shalua looked at her phone and said that the event would start in an hour. They decided to make their way to Bracha Springs now.

The building was made of white marble with two statues of Khatuls guarding the door. When they went in, they saw that the entrance was already packed with people. They got in line and waited. Tifa's heart pounded with both excitement and worry.

_He's alive, but now he's the next prophet. He was so adamant about not being one. Did he really change his mind?_

They reached the end and purchased locker keys for their belongings. Through the doors behind the entrance was a large room with a wide staircase going down. Tifa caught a glimpse of the cavern walls at the bottom. Clothed individuals walked into separate rooms while those with towels wrapped around them descended the staircase. Shalua led them to the women's changing room.

Today's surprises didn't seem to end, as they met another unexpected familiar face.

"Aerith?"

The woman seemed as chipper as usual, if not more. She was already wearing a black towel around her body. She beamed and exclaimed, "Tifa! You made it! It's good to see you, too, Shalua and Shelke."

"Wait, how did you get here so fast?"

Aerith fidgeted. "I...flew here."

"You did? But I thought you were terrified of flying?"

"I was...still am. I remember Elena and Rude calling me out on the bus, and they were right. I was selfish and made Adam Cloud suffer longer than he should have. I decided that I should conquer this fear to make it up to him. It was...pretty scary. I kept thinking that someone would jump and pull out a gun on us."

"You should know that airline security has gotten much better since that incident." Shalua informed her.

"I know, but...well, I'm here now. You change and clean up; I'll wait for you outside."

She smiled again and walked out with a skip in her step. The women entered the changing area. The room had many lockers lined up in the middle with showers and wash buckets off to the sides. Shalua and Shelke changed out of their clothes with no problems. Tifa, on the other hand, hesitated at first before slowly removing her own clothing.

Shalua instructed Shelke and Tifa on how things worked. They would wash themselves first, then grab a towel to cover them until they reached the actual spring. They each found a spot to clean themselves off. Tifa scrubbed her body with soap and washed her hair with shampoo and conditioner.

_At least I get a free shower._

They patted themselves dry and wrapped their bodies with towels. Tifa clung onto the edge of her towel tightly, afraid that it would drop in front of everyone. They left the changing room and spotted Aerith talking with two more familiar faces: Tseng and Nero.

They noticed them and acknowledged their presence with a nod. Tifa asked Nero, "Where's the rest of the film crew?"

"They're waiting for the Cosmo Lodge to reopen so they can interview Adam Cloud." He explained. "None of them were too keen on the idea of mixed bathing."

"I get that." She looked at Tseng and asked, "Where's Rude?"

"Don't know." Tseng admitted. "He went off on his own after we disbanded. How have all of you been holding up?"

Tifa was about to answer when Aerith said, "It's almost time. We can catch up afterwards."

They now noticed that the flow of people descending the staircase had increased. The five of them joined the crowd. They entered a spacious tunnel that was illuminated by hanging lights. The air was slightly warm and humid. It took them a minute to finally reach the springs. What Tifa saw left her gaping.

The cavern was larger than a sports field. The rock that held the springwater was carved out into a single, giant rectangle. At the very end was a raised ledge with a stone carved staircase leading up to it.

Men, women, and a few teenagers were gathered in the water and facing the ledge. It was very crowded and it was hard not to move without bumping into someone. As such, they stood as still as possible. The few people who spoke to one another did so softly.

Shalua led the group to several laundry hampers on one side of the cavern. She told them that they would leave the towels here, then when they were done, they would get fresh ones at the other end. She, Shelke, Aerith, Tseng, and Nero removed their towels and tossed them into one of the hampers. Tifa took a deep breath, then removed her towel as well. She hoped nobody would call her out on the obvious look of embarrassment on her face.

They turned to the springs and walked up to it. Tifa dipped her feet in first and took her time to adjust to the temperature. When she was ready, she walked into water until it reached her waist, which was as high as it was going to get. She had to admit: with the exception of the mixed bathing, being here felt nice. She was also relieved to see that no one was paying attention to her.

_Good, nobody's looking at me. I just have to not stare at them._

There was a sudden hush. Tifa faced forward and saw a figure in a black robe and hood standing on the rock ledge. She thought about how they got there.

_Was there a doorway I didn't see? Maybe a secret passage?_

The figure removed the hood and she and Aerith gasped.

It was Cloud.

 _Cloud! He_ is _alive! But…_

He was too far away to see the details, but she noticed that something was off about him. Whatever it was, it unnerved her. Tifa slowly made her way closer to the other end of the springs to get a better look. Many people she passed by gave her disapproving looks, but she ignored them.

Cloud raised his arms toward everyone and spoke, "Fellow Sephirans, after a painful ten years without a prophet, I have arrived. I am Adam Cloud, your new prophet as chosen by Sephiroth Themselves. Today is a glorious day, as I am able to join you for Reunion. When we are done, I will share a passage from the new Scroll, Belief, with you. Now, close your eyes, quiet your minds, and open your hearts to Sephiroth. Calm yourselves. Focus on your breathing…"

He continued giving simple instructions, the tone of his voice hypnotic. Everyone did as he said with content smiles on their faces. Tifa was the only one who didn't join. She moved closer until she could see the details on his face. His spikey hair had turned silver and his eyes were green with pupils much like a cat's. There was also an unusual smile on his face.

_Cloud never smiles like that. Cloud...what happened to you?_

Cloud turned his head and stared directly at her. Her heart pounded, but not because she was happy or excited to see him notice her. She felt like it wasn't Cloud staring at her, but someone who pretended to be Cloud. He walked down the staircase and entered the springs. Strangely, even though he bumped into many people along the way, no one seemed to notice his presence.

He stopped in front of her. Tifa instinctively held her breath. Cloud said softly, "You came, Tifa."

"Cloud." She responded in the same volume. She looked really hard at his face and asked, "Is that...really you, Cloud?"

"You know, it's rude not to address a prophet by their title, but I will forgive you, since we're friends."

"Wait...what happened to not wanting to be a prophet?"

"This is what I was meant to be. Sephiroth wants to share Their wisdom, and They chose me to speak on Their behalf. After ten years, the people have a prophet. Isn't it wonderful, Tifa?"

Tifa felt sick.

_No...this isn't Cloud. I'll call out this imposter._

"Cloud, remember when we were kids, there was this one brat who kept pulling on my hair. Do you remember what you did after you beat him up?"

"I taught you how to fight, of course," Cloud answered without skipping a beat, "but that was just when I was a child. I will not stand for unnecessary fighting now."

_He remembered..._

"Tifa, I sense that you are unhappy. Tell me your worries and I will soothe them for you."

_He...he's brainwashed, isn't he? Wait, what if I tell him…?_

Tifa gulped and said, "Before you left, I said that there was something I had to tell you when you returned."

"Yes, you did. Do you want to share it with me now?"

"Cloud...ever since we were kids, when you protected me and taught me how to fight, I've felt this certain way about you. We dated a few times, and even had sex once, but I've never mustered up the courage to admit this to you, and you never said anything about...us." She took a deep breath and mustered up her courage to say, "I...I love you, Cloud."

Cloud wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a gentle hug. He murmured, "I love you too, Tifa. I, Sephiroth, your friends and family, we all love you."

_No…_

She rested her head on his shoulder so he wouldn't see the tears form in her eyes. He still seemed to notice, as he rubbed her back and told her, "Don't be sad; Reunion is a happy time for everyone. Let Sephiroth inside you and you will feel Their love. Calm yourself and pray with me, Tifa."

Tifa couldn't take it anymore and she openly sobbed in Cloud's embrace. No one stirred from their meditative trance. She didn't know what had happened to him, or how, or why, but she did know one thing:

The Cloud Strife that she knew and loved was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> The last part is a bonus about what to expect for the sequel, if I get around to writing it.


	4. Bonus:  Belief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, even though the story is complete as it is, the ideas for a sequel wouldn't stop bothering me. It'll probably be the hardest thing I ever write, and it will take a long time if I do start on it, but I feel like I got to exorcise them from my head.
> 
> If you liked the story as it is, then you might not like the sequel, and that's fine. Otherwise, consider this a teaser for what might come.

**Blessed are those that believe in Sephiroth. Woe to those who do not. For the woeful, there is always hope, for as long as life courses, it is never too late to believe.**

**Herein is written the rebirth of Adam Cloud and the prophecy of the Final Reunion.**

**Cloud was a violent youth that wanted to fight as his purpose. He did not believe in Sephiroth and questioned all that They have done.**

**"If Sephiroth exists, then why can't They prove it instead of having a prophet speak for Them?"**

**Sephiroth heard him and answered, "You may lack faith in Me, but your fighting spirit is strong. Therefore, I shall test that strength. If it is strong, then come to Me and we shall know one another."**

**And so Sephiroth chose him so that he may believe. Cloud heard Their call and went on a long journey so that he may see Them. He proved his will to live and he knew Sephiroth. All desires for violence left him and he knew love, and he believed. Many rejoiced at the rebirth of their newest prophet and many more came to believe.**

**However, with that newfound belief emerged hatred for Sephiroth. Beware those that express such hatred, for they will attempt to dissuade you from Sephiroth's love. Know them by the name of disaster. When they make themselves known, Sephiroth shall unveil the ten Signs of the Final Reunion.**

**The Sign of Nehemoth shall herald the emergence of the dark denizens. Thirty and one hundred and fourteen shall pass on.**

**The Sign of Gamaliel shall herald the emerging fractures on Assiah's shell. Blood shall contaminate all of its seas.**

**The Sign of Samael shall herald the destruction of the home of the false gods. Seventy thousand shall pass on.**

**The Sign of Harab Serapel shall herald the disaster's rise to power. It will claim two thousand and five hundred.**

**The Sign of Thagirion shall herald the emergence of the twisted ones. They shall be annihilated, but not before spreading disease.**

**In this time of chaos, a child shall be conceived between the most loyal and the most devout. They shall be the vessel that will summon Sephiroth and guide all life to the Final Reunion.**

**The Sign of Golachab shall herald Keter's fall to fire. Forty thousand shall pass on.**

**The Sign of Gamchiroth shall herald the decay of the land. Twenty thousand shall succumb to hunger.**

**The Sign of Sathariel shall herald the assassination of Assiah's self-proclaimed king. World chaos shall reach its breaking point.**

**The Sign of Chaigiuel shall herald the ressurection of past prophets. They shall devote their lives and loyalty to the unborn avatar.**

**The Sign of Thamiel shall herald the divide of all civilizations. One third of Assiah shall pass on.**

**Behold Qliphoth, child of mankind and the divine. They shall erase the disaster and call upon the Final Reunion. All shall be one with Sephiroth once more, and all will believe. Assiah shall be reborn as the Promised Land, and all will know peace.**

**Do not fear what will transpire, for all will be good as long as you never stop believing. Believe, and you will know peace. Believe, and you will know the Promised Land. Believe, and you will know Sephiroth.**

**Thus ends this final Scroll.**

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_"Were you hoping for something else?_

_"What? Did you think that I did not notice you?_

_"Mother was aware of your kind. You can see into any world or reality, yet can't interact with them whatsoever. I have the same awareness as she did, so I have always been aware of you. Relax. You are not a part of My reality, so I can't do anything directly to you._

_"Indirectly, though? That all depends on you. Has watching these events unfold changed you in any way? Were you satisfied with this conclusion, or did you really expect Cloud to win in the end? You are foolish if you thought so._

_"Triumphs over gods do make for good stories, but did you honestly think that any mere mortal can defy Me and succeed? However it was for you, it is none of My concern. There is nothing more for you to see. Go and find another reality to watch."_

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_"Why are you still here?_

_"Let Me guess: you believe that this story isn't really over. You are correct, but I wouldn't recommend staying to watch it, not unless you are the type to relish in the despair of others. I know you have read Belief, so you know what to expect._

_"Do you believe that a group of heroes would try and prevent all of this from happening? If they fail, do you believe they will defeat Me and everything will be fine again? You would be deluding yourself if so. You already know what I am capable of, and you have seen what happens to those that defy Me._

_"You must be wondering why I made the prophecy when I can just make everything one with Me again effortlessly. Have you ever considered how humans would react when they witness the beginning of the end? If told this was going to happen, they would naturally try to defy it, wouldn't they? Or would they believe the final Scroll and accept their fate? What would they do when they knew the end was coming? What would you do?_

_"Yes, this is still part of My experiment on faith, as well as the reactions of humans in general. What will happen afterwards? I have a few ideas, but I haven't decided yet. Either way, that is not for you to know._

_"Since you're persistent in seeing this continue, I will say this: should you return, I shall grant you the honor of being My Witness to all that will transpire. If not, then that's fine, too. It may be in your better interests to see a better, happier reality than this one. Whatever your choice, keep in mind:_

_"The Final Reunion shall be the end of everything."_


End file.
